1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
Communication technicians are also referred to as telecommunications technicians. They supervise businesses' telecommunication networks such as internet telephone cable and some office equipment. As a communication technician, you are to utilize your expertise in electronics by diagnosing issues and repairing devices such as laptops, tablets, cell phones, etc. Also, you could be responsible for troubleshooting and engaging clients about the extent of malfunctions.
It is your duty to upgrade and maintain the company's current communications systems. You are also expected to evaluate client needs and install communication systems that meet these needs in the best way. Furthermore, you are to check all the wiring work done to make sure that there are no exposed cables for safety purposes. You are also to perform routine tests on telecommunication systems to make sure every component is functioning at optimal levels.
Employers lookout for candidates with at least a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree in business electrical engineering technology or electrical engineering. On a yearly basis, you should make an average salary of $48,155.
There are certain skills that many communications technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed color vision, customer-service skills and dexterity.
If you're interested in becoming a communications technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 34.6% of communications technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.7% of communications technicians have master's degrees. Even though some communications technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of technician you might progress to a role such as team leader eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title service manager.
What Am I Worth?
The role of a communications technician includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general communications technician responsibilities:
There are several types of communications technician, including:
To be a technician, you have to know your stuff. Some may refer to you as an expert in your field or maybe people will know you as skilled in an art or craft. Then again, you may just be needed to look after technical equipment.
Your workload as a technician will vary, depending on what you're trained in. You may be needed to set up a new computer system or maybe you'll need to fix an electricity problem. Either way, you'll probably only need to work 40 hours a week.
The degree of education required for this job depends on what you're specific skillset is. Some technicians only need a high school diploma, others may want to complete an associate's program or earn a certificate to help their employment opportunities. There's definitely something for everyone in the field of technicians.
As a service technician, you'll be coming home with a lot of grease on your hands. Unless, of course, you wash your hands before leaving work. Guess where all that grease comes from. Vehicles! That's right, you'll be inspecting and repairing cars, left and right.
Generally, you'll be working in a well-ventilated, well-lit garage of some sort. You'll need to be familiar with automotive issues in a car's computer system, such as figuring out why the check engine light is on. And you'll probably need to know how to change a tire or change the oil. But we're not telling you how to do your job.
Instead of getting your training from us, you should complete a program from a postsecondary institution. Again, not telling you what to do but rather what employers like to see. Once you have the job, you may need to go a step further by becoming certified.
Field Service Technicians may be employed by a number of different industries and companies. Their general task is to inspect and troubleshoot issues with equipment on-site, in various facilities. They install, repair, and maintain equipment, advise customers on the correct use of machinery, and conduct testing of machines and implement improvements.
Field service technicians travel to client locations, responding to service requests. They support customers who have issues with technical equipment by identifying the problem and performing troubleshooting.
They are expected to build good relationships with customers, as they represent their company on location, so being friendly and patient is just as important for a successful field service technician as scoring high in mechanical aptitude.
Mouse over a state to see the number of active communications technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where communications technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
---|---|---|---|
1 | California | 4,945 | $64,687 |
2 | Texas | 3,454 | $40,708 |
3 | Florida | 2,823 | $41,187 |
4 | New York | 2,673 | $57,112 |
5 | Georgia | 1,992 | $46,806 |
6 | Illinois | 1,954 | $59,567 |
7 | North Carolina | 1,953 | $53,282 |
8 | Virginia | 1,882 | $67,887 |
9 | Pennsylvania | 1,770 | $58,594 |
10 | Massachusetts | 1,569 | $60,337 |
11 | Ohio | 1,455 | $54,448 |
12 | New Jersey | 1,367 | $77,097 |
13 | Minnesota | 1,321 | $49,520 |
14 | Michigan | 1,261 | $51,096 |
15 | Colorado | 1,252 | $61,697 |
16 | Tennessee | 1,208 | $50,019 |
17 | Washington | 1,191 | $77,859 |
18 | Maryland | 1,166 | $64,304 |
19 | Missouri | 1,148 | $61,484 |
20 | Arizona | 1,083 | $48,679 |
21 | Iowa | 1,020 | $50,925 |
22 | Wisconsin | 949 | $48,098 |
23 | South Carolina | 905 | $48,142 |
24 | Oregon | 785 | $77,556 |
25 | Alabama | 681 | $47,800 |
26 | Connecticut | 656 | $72,444 |
27 | Utah | 655 | $45,928 |
28 | Oklahoma | 609 | $50,700 |
29 | Louisiana | 569 | $46,561 |
30 | Kentucky | 546 | $52,807 |
31 | Mississippi | 519 | $44,713 |
32 | Nebraska | 470 | $56,020 |
33 | Kansas | 466 | $54,532 |
34 | Nevada | 464 | $52,104 |
35 | Arkansas | 425 | $43,348 |
36 | Maine | 416 | $61,836 |
37 | New Mexico | 374 | $52,259 |
38 | New Hampshire | 303 | $65,460 |
39 | Delaware | 289 | $52,756 |
40 | West Virginia | 281 | $51,875 |
41 | Montana | 265 | $63,720 |
42 | Idaho | 265 | $61,886 |
43 | North Dakota | 247 | $66,301 |
44 | South Dakota | 217 | $66,646 |
45 | Vermont | 189 | $64,898 |
46 | Hawaii | 188 | $48,291 |
47 | Alaska | 184 | $75,294 |
48 | Rhode Island | 154 | $55,251 |
49 | Wyoming | 130 | $58,508 |
50 | Indiana | 0 | $52,502 |
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Bayamon, PR • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,940
Enrollment
4,169
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
Utica, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,238
Enrollment
2,120
University Park, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
Lincoln, NE • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,242
Enrollment
20,592
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 9.2% of communications technicians listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as color vision and customer-service skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Communications Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Communications Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
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Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a communications technician. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, and Alaska. Communications technicians make the most in Washington with an average salary of $77,859. Whereas in Oregon and New Jersey, they would average $77,556 and $77,097, respectively. While communications technicians would only make an average of $75,294 in Alaska, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Vermont
$64,898
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$77,556
Avg. Salary
3. South Dakota
$66,646
Avg. Salary
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | DXC Technology | $66,991 | $32.21 | 24 |
2 | Lucent | $66,416 | $31.93 | 48 |
3 | Motorola Solutions | $65,280 | $31.38 | 82 |
4 | Qwest | $61,707 | $29.67 | 54 |
5 | CSX | $61,092 | $29.37 | 34 |
6 | Accenture | $58,911 | $28.32 | 20 |
7 | City of New York | $56,542 | $27.18 | 131 |
8 | Pacific Bells | $53,608 | $25.77 | 30 |
9 | AT&T | $49,598 | $23.85 | 476 |
10 | IES | $46,859 | $22.53 | 54 |