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Fiber optic central office installer vs central office technician

The differences between fiber optic central office installers and central office technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a fiber optic central office installer has an average salary of $40,855, which is higher than the $39,043 average annual salary of a central office technician.

The top three skills for a fiber optic central office installer include fiber optic cables, test equipment and install fiber. The most important skills for a central office technician are fiber optic cables, switches, and T1.

Fiber optic central office installer vs central office technician overview

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerCentral Office Technician
Yearly salary$40,855$39,043
Hourly rate$19.64$18.77
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs48,66379,138
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%Associate Degree, 41%
Average age4545
Years of experience--

Fiber optic central office installer vs central office technician salary

Fiber optic central office installers and central office technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerCentral Office Technician
Average salary$40,855$39,043
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $54,000Between $24,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and central office technician education

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerCentral Office Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%Associate Degree, 41%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNew York UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Fiber optic central office installer vs central office technician demographics

Here are the differences between fiber optic central office installers' and central office technicians' demographics:

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerCentral Office Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 97.6% Female, 2.4%Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.3% White, 56.9% 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 fiber optic central office installer and central office technician duties and responsibilities

Fiber optic central office installer example responsibilities.

  • Wire and test RJ45, both in UTP and STP as well as CAT5/5E and CAT6.
  • Help linemen with the installation of underground and ariel fiber optics.
  • Repair and install business and residential FiOS digital telephone, broadband internet, and high-definition television service.
  • Configure Cat6 cabling/wall jack terminations, testing voice/data line activity to confirm connections.

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

Fiber optic central office installer vs central office technician skills

Common fiber optic central office installer skills
  • Fiber Optic Cables, 35%
  • Test Equipment, 29%
  • Install Fiber, 10%
  • Cable Lines, 10%
  • CAT5, 9%
  • Patch Panels, 7%
Common central office technician skills
  • Fiber Optic Cables, 8%
  • Switches, 7%
  • T1, 5%
  • Provisioning, 5%
  • DS3, 4%
  • IP, 4%

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