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Fiber optic central office installer vs telephone technician

The differences between fiber optic central office installers and telephone technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a telephone technician has an average salary of $45,477, 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 telephone technician are fiber optic, phone system, and PBX.

Fiber optic central office installer vs telephone technician overview

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerTelephone Technician
Yearly salary$40,855$45,477
Hourly rate$19.64$21.86
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs48,66345,522
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%Associate Degree, 36%
Average age4545
Years of experience--

Fiber optic central office installer vs telephone technician salary

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerTelephone Technician
Average salary$40,855$45,477
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $54,000Between $34,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and telephone technician education

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerTelephone Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%Associate Degree, 36%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNew York UniversityInter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon

Fiber optic central office installer vs telephone technician demographics

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

Fiber Optic Central Office InstallerTelephone Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 97.6% Female, 2.4%Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8%
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, 11.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between fiber optic central office installer and telephone 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.

Telephone technician example responsibilities.

  • Implement and manage UHF radio base stations, repeaters, and command network, effectively linking all regional headquarters.
  • Pull CAT5 cable from workstations to closets, and connect to patch panels.
  • Install and terminate CAT5, CAT6 and multi-pair cabling in businesses for new or retrofit data network.
  • Set up MDF s and IDF's to include racks and trays, terminate both copper and fiber.
  • Install equipment racks, ladder racks, cable management systems along with the electronic data switches and associate hardware.
  • Install trunks lines, T1's switches (small and large).
  • Show more

Fiber optic central office installer vs telephone 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 telephone technician skills
  • Fiber Optic, 10%
  • Phone System, 9%
  • PBX, 7%
  • System Installation, 5%
  • Telephone Lines, 5%
  • Avaya, 4%

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