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The differences between fiber optic technicians and repair technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a repair technician has an average salary of $41,643, which is higher than the $40,661 average annual salary of a fiber optic technician.
The top three skills for a fiber optic technician include fiber optic cables, ladders and power meters. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
| Fiber Optic Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $40,661 | $41,643 |
| Hourly rate | $19.55 | $20.02 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 103,364 | 162,051 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 31% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A fiber optic technician is someone who works with the optical cables and fibers used in communications data transmission. Fiber optic technicians fuse fibers together, install fiber cables, and splice fibers in buildings and beneath the ground. They take responsibility for fiber optic network installation and maintenance in schools, homes, businesses, and any other organizations. They identify the solutions to issues or problems to prevent fiber optic systems from their optimal performance.
A repair technician's role focuses on assessing the problem or damage of a device and implementing solutions for it to function again. Although the extent of a technician's tasks will depend on the device or industry of employment, most of it revolves around troubleshooting, providing technical support, installing and writing programs, detaching and re-attaching wirings, welding, and even thoroughly discussing problems and solutions to clients. Furthermore, there are instances when a repair technician must work in a team setting that requires coordination and communication.
Fiber optic technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Fiber Optic Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $40,661 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $51,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | SoCalGas |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a fiber optic technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Fiber Optic Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 31% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between fiber optic technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Fiber Optic Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 3.3% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 2% |