Structured cabling technicians install and maintain cables used in communications technologies. They can work with voice cables, fiber optics, or any systems that need to be installed in order to help people communicate with each other. A structured cabling technician may help install new hardware in order to connect more areas to a telecommunications network. They also help maintain old systems and troubleshoot any problems so that people don't experience service outages. Structured cabling technicians need to know how to use basic hand tools. They also need to have a keen eye for safety regulations and have a color vision in order to avoid injury at work.
Some structured cabling technicians have bachelor's degrees, while many others have associate's degrees or professional certificates. However, it's possible to do this job with only a high school diploma.
Structured cabling technicians need some practical experience working as technicians before they can move on to this highly sensitive role. Once they do, they can earn an average salary of $18.60 an hour.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a structured cabling technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.26 an hour? That's $44,225 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -6% and produce -13,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many structured cabling technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed color vision, customer-service skills and dexterity.
If you're interested in becoming a structured cabling technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 30.6% of structured cabling technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.7% of structured cabling technicians have master's degrees. Even though some structured cabling technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a structured cabling technician. When we researched the most common majors for a structured cabling technician, we found that they most commonly earn associate degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on structured cabling technician resumes include high school diploma degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a structured cabling technician. In fact, many structured cabling technician jobs require experience in a role such as technician. Meanwhile, many structured cabling technicians also have previous career experience in roles such as cable technician or field service technician.