Central office technician vs switch technician

The differences between central office technicians and switch technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a switch technician has an average salary of $101,377, which is higher than the $39,043 average annual salary of a central office technician.

The top three skills for a central office technician include fiber optic cables, switches and T1. The most important skills for a switch technician are switches, routine maintenance, and T1.

Central office technician vs switch technician overview

	Central Office Technician	Switch Technician
Yearly salary	$39,043	$101,377
Hourly rate	$18.77	$48.74
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	79,138	46,430
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 42%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Central office technician vs switch technician salary

Central office technicians and switch technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Central Office Technician	Switch Technician
Average salary	$39,043	$101,377
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $63,000	Between $76,000 And $134,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between central office technician and switch technician education

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

	Central Office Technician	Switch Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 42%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Central office technician vs switch technician demographics

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

	Central Office Technician	Switch Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%	Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between central office technician and switch technician duties and responsibilities

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.

Switch technician example responsibilities.

Manage LAN as an administrator for NATO HQ network.
Assist in managing CDMA network, Voice/EVDO circuit's layouts, CDM circuit inventory and roll over's for cell sites.
Configure Veraz switch for TDM and IP services.
Coordinate installation, testing, and troubleshooting of transmission facilities (OC48, T3, T1, and DSO).
Work with management team to develop a comprehensive and successful IP and TDM base network infrastructure and unify communications plan.
Circuit switching (DMS-250 and Alcatel DEX-600E).

Central office technician vs switch technician skills

Common central office technician skills

Fiber Optic Cables, 8%
Switches, 7%
T1, 5%
Provisioning, 5%
DS3, 4%
IP, 4%

Common switch technician skills

Switches, 9%
Routine Maintenance, 7%
T1, 7%
RF, 6%
Technical Support, 4%
Trouble Tickets, 4%

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Central Office Technician
Central Office Technician vs Switch Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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