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Fiber optic central office installer vs phone technician

The differences between fiber optic central office installers and phone technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a phone technician has an average salary of $42,690, which is higher than the $40,855 average annual salary of a fiber optic central office installer.

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 phone technician are customer service, cell phones, and phone system.

Fiber optic central office installer vs phone technician overview

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerPhone Technician
Yearly salary$40,855$42,690
Hourly rate$19.64$20.52
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs48,66341,324
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%High School Diploma, 35%
Average age4545
Years of experience--

Fiber optic central office installer vs phone technician salary

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerPhone Technician
Average salary$40,855$42,690
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $54,000Between $31,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and phone technician education

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerPhone Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%High School Diploma, 35%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringBusiness
Most common collegeNew York UniversityNew York University

Fiber optic central office installer vs phone technician demographics

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerPhone Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 97.6% Female, 2.4%Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%
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, 11.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and phone 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.

Phone technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage telecommunications installation and repair for hospital Nortel network.
  • Repair LCD and programming on various computers
  • Used POS system to determine which repair needs to be start.
  • Coordinate the maintenance and repair of T1's and associate electronic equipment.
  • Resolve DXU hardware problems and BS fault alarms with Ericsson OMT software.
  • Activate phones, run tests on the phones, and reprogram the phones.
  • Show more

Fiber optic central office installer vs phone 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 phone technician skills
  • Customer Service, 22%
  • Cell Phones, 7%
  • Phone System, 7%
  • VoIP, 5%
  • Windows, 4%
  • Cellular Devices, 4%

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