Central office technician vs telecom technician

The differences between central office technicians and telecom technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a telecom technician has an average salary of $54,352, 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 telecom technician are fiber optic cables, voip, and switches.

Central office technician vs telecom technician overview

	Central Office Technician	Telecom Technician
Yearly salary	$39,043	$54,352
Hourly rate	$18.77	$26.13
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	79,138	111,865
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 40%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Central office technician vs telecom technician salary

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

	Central Office Technician	Telecom Technician
Average salary	$39,043	$54,352
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $63,000	Between $33,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between central office technician and telecom technician education

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

	Central Office Technician	Telecom Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 40%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Central office technician vs telecom technician demographics

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

	Central Office Technician	Telecom Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%	Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0%
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, 18.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between central office technician and telecom 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.

Telecom technician example responsibilities.

Manage and report on SLA's and work with vendors for any corrections or necessary actions.
Implement and manage UHF radio base stations, repeaters, and command network, effectively linking all regional headquarters.
Pull CAT5e, CAT6, coax cable, install patch panels and connect network devices including routers and switches.
Work with passive equipment such as: RF cable, connectors, twist pair cable, CAT5 and CAT6.
Create new, augmenting, or deleting trunks in the Nortel DMS switch.
Install and repair coax cable, CatV, and fiber optic and copper lines.

Central office technician vs telecom technician skills

Common central office technician skills

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

Common telecom technician skills

Fiber Optic Cables, 7%
VoIP, 7%
Switches, 6%
IP, 6%
Ladders, 5%
Technical Support, 5%

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Central Office Technician
Central Office Technician vs Telecom Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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