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Fiber optic central office installer vs installation technician

The differences between fiber optic central office installers and installation 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 $38,043 average annual salary of an installation 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 an installation technician are customer service, ladders, and hand tools.

Fiber optic central office installer vs installation technician overview

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerInstallation Technician
Yearly salary$40,855$38,043
Hourly rate$19.64$18.29
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs48,663129,534
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%High School Diploma, 32%
Average age4545
Years of experience--

Fiber optic central office installer vs installation technician salary

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerInstallation Technician
Average salary$40,855$38,043
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $54,000Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City-Seattle, WA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Pella
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and installation technician education

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerInstallation Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%High School Diploma, 32%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNew York UniversityNew York University

Fiber optic central office installer vs installation technician demographics

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerInstallation Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 97.6% Female, 2.4%Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4%
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, 12.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and installation 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.

Installation technician example responsibilities.

  • Project manage the complete installation of power and floor space of Nortel wireless switches.
  • Install, manage, and troubleshoot CAT3, CAT5, CAT6, and fiber optic infrastructures throughout the greater Tulsa area.
  • Train to build and verify customer routers, TCP/IP addresses ad gateways.
  • Inspect buildings, interpret blueprints, and laid out cable lines for telephone, internet, and cable TV.
  • Install telecommunications equipment including fire-suppression systems, switches, routers, multiplexers and cable trays.
  • Switch include 25 DMS bays , 2 PDC's and all associate cables.
  • Show more

Fiber optic central office installer vs installation 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 installation technician skills
  • Customer Service, 19%
  • Ladders, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 8%
  • Work Ethic, 7%
  • Broadband, 5%
  • GPS, 5%

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