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Cell site technician vs central office technician

The differences between cell site technicians and central office technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cell site technician has an average salary of $67,609, which is higher than the $39,043 average annual salary of a central office technician.

The top three skills for a cell site technician include RF, antenna systems and T1. The most important skills for a central office technician are fiber optic cables, switches, and T1.

Cell site technician vs central office technician overview

Cell Site TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Yearly salary$67,609$39,043
Hourly rate$32.50$18.77
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs32,09979,138
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Associate Degree, 41%
Average age4545
Years of experience--

Cell site technician vs central office technician salary

Cell site technicians and central office technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Cell Site TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Average salary$67,609$39,043
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $100,000Between $24,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between cell site technician and central office technician education

There are a few differences between a cell site technician and a central office technician in terms of educational background:

Cell Site TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Associate Degree, 41%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeInter American University of Puerto Rico BayamonUniversity of Pennsylvania

Cell site technician vs central office technician demographics

Here are the differences between cell site technicians' and central office technicians' demographics:

Cell Site TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 93.9% Female, 6.1%Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between cell site technician and central office technician duties and responsibilities

Cell site technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage LAN as an administrator for NATO HQ network.
  • Commission and troubleshot LTE, GSM, UMTS cellular systems.
  • Receive several weeks of Ericsson vendor training in Richardson, TX.
  • Coordinate with LEC's and wireless partners to build translations and turn up trunks.
  • Work closely with FCC and FAA guidelines to insure proper installation and amplification output limits.
  • Provide support to Nokia's development team for design and manufacturing faults on their handsets.
  • Show more

Central office technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage assigned Ericsson AXE patch upgrades and retrofits for all AXE sites.
  • Assist in managing CDMA network, Voice/EVDO circuit's layouts, CDM circuit inventory and roll over's for cell sites.
  • Install all Nortel DMS series equipment.
  • Operate power-meters, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, and various RF test equipment.
  • Install and troubleshoot telecommunications circuits and devices including legacy, asynchronous, SONET, and Ethernet equipment.
  • Associate duties include running cable, lacing, stitching, wire wrapping, mounting bays, etc.
  • Show more

Cell site technician vs central office technician skills

Common cell site technician skills
  • RF, 11%
  • Antenna Systems, 7%
  • T1, 6%
  • Fiber Optic, 6%
  • Test Equipment, 5%
  • Battery, 3%
Common central office technician skills
  • Fiber Optic Cables, 8%
  • Switches, 7%
  • T1, 5%
  • Provisioning, 5%
  • DS3, 4%
  • IP, 4%

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