How To Become A Field Technician Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a field technician engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Alison Graettinger

A field technician engineer is an individual who is responsible for telecom installation, programming, maintenance, and repair, and also installs electrical equipment. These professionals work with a variety of telecom and communication systems to provision, install, and repair telephones, cables, and related technologies in diverse work environments ranging from businesses, schools, and universities. Most field technician engineers travel frequently to work sites and interact directly with customers who own electronic, communication, and engineering equipment.

Most technicians do a certain amount of physical labor, such as lifting equipment, and working on overhead cabling, and they are also adept at performing equipment tests, monitoring network services, and troubleshooting communication issues. Field technician engineers also design and prepare networking documentation, equipment maintenance, and should possess strong computer skills, as well as good interpersonal and communication skills as well.

These professionals also are proficient in working with others as a team and are adept at coordinating with management and clients. Depending on the industry, the day-to-day duties of the technician vary, but the bulk of the work entails maintenance and repair. Most field technicians have an associate's or bachelor's degree in computer science, IT, or a comparable subject; however, a degree is not necessarily critical. Field technicians in the US can expect to make up to $58,000 per year, but job growth is expected to dip a bit by 3% by 2029.

What general advice would you give to a field technician engineer?

Dr. Alison Graettinger

Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri - Kansas City

Some common challenges for field based positions is the amount of travel involved or working in extreme weather conditions.

ScoreField Technician EngineerUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,370

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.06%

Asian 10.38%

Black or African American 9.65%

Hispanic or Latino 17.05%

Unknown 6.03%

White 55.82%

Gender

female 7.70%

male 92.30%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a field technician engineer

Explore field technician engineer education requirements

Most common field technician engineer degrees

Bachelor's

54.9 %

Associate

26.1 %

High School Diploma

7.0 %

Start to develop specific field technician engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Preventive Maintenance	6.23%
Technical Support	5.54%
RF	5.40%
Customer Satisfaction	5.00%
Test Equipment	4.39%

Complete relevant field technician engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New field technician engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a field technician engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real field technician engineer resumes.

Research field technician engineer duties and responsibilities

Train other LAN administrators which intern enable them to grow and achieve their goals.
Accomplish expert with Nortel TDM/CDMA/EVDO wireless telephony networking systems.
Complete LTE and TCP/IP training.
Complete site surveys to troubleshoot and design corrective RF and RF/fiber optic installations for existing systems with inadequate coverage.

Prepare your field technician engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your field technician engineer resume.

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