Outside plant technician vs cable technician

The differences between outside plant technicians and cable technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cable technician has an average salary of $47,289, which is higher than the $42,451 average annual salary of an outside plant technician.

The top three skills for an outside plant technician include ladders, outside plant and CDL. The most important skills for a cable technician are broadband, customer service, and ladders.

Outside plant technician vs cable technician overview

	Outside Plant Technician	Cable Technician
Yearly salary	$42,451	$47,289
Hourly rate	$20.41	$22.74
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	67,234	120,249
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 39%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Outside plant technician vs cable technician salary

Outside plant technicians and cable technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Plant Technician	Cable Technician
Average salary	$42,451	$47,289
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $61,000	Between $34,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	Jackson, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Baker Hughes
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between outside plant technician and cable technician education

There are a few differences between an outside plant technician and a cable technician in terms of educational background:

	Outside Plant Technician	Cable Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	High School Diploma, 39%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	New York University

Outside plant technician vs cable technician demographics

Here are the differences between outside plant technicians' and cable technicians' demographics:

	Outside Plant Technician	Cable Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 96.8% Female, 3.2%	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 6.2% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside plant technician and cable technician duties and responsibilities

Outside plant technician example responsibilities.

Manage and administer documentation of OSP fiber optic plant in support of customer projects, network planning, and municipality requirements.
Move and/or lift items such as ladders, tools, air tanks, cable reels, and test equipment
Install residential and business telephone lines, including premise CAT5 wiring and jack work.
Perform construction work such as digging holes, installing inner duct in various types of conduit systems and open excavations.
Organize projects that include open excavations, placing cables, air pipes and inner duct in various types of conduit systems.
Install and repair T1 and T3 systems.

Cable technician example responsibilities.

Manage projects wiring computer networks and phone systems, using Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and fiber optics.
Replace every existing cat-5 data and voice drop with cat-6 cabling and corresponding material.
Install cable boxes for cable and modems for computer Internet along with coax cable and CAT5 for phone lines.
Conduct on-site installations, correction and repair of clients' broadband service, equipment troubleshooting, and customer service and education
Climb ladders and gaff high utility poles to a height of approximately 25 feet, lifting and moving 80 pound ladders.
Install cat5 and cat6 for telecommunications

Outside plant technician vs cable technician skills

Common outside plant technician skills

Ladders, 10%
Outside Plant, 10%
CDL, 8%
Test Equipment, 6%
Safety Procedures, 6%
OSHA, 5%

Common cable technician skills

Broadband, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Ladders, 9%
Hand Tools, 6%
Structured Cabling, 5%
TV, 5%

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Outside Plant Technician
Outside Plant Technician vs Cable Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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