Telephone lineman vs fiber technologist

The differences between telephone linemen and fiber technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a telephone lineman has an average salary of $68,895, which is higher than the $51,824 average annual salary of a fiber technologist.

The top three skills for a telephone lineman include augers, and . The most important skills for a fiber technologist are OTDR, OSP, and fiber optic cables.

Telephone lineman vs fiber technologist overview

	Telephone Lineman	Fiber Technologist
Yearly salary	$68,895	$51,824
Hourly rate	$33.12	$24.92
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	2,834	128,496
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Telephone lineman vs fiber technologist salary

Telephone linemen and fiber technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Telephone Lineman	Fiber Technologist
Average salary	$68,895	$51,824
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $95,000	Between $36,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Rocklin, CA
Highest paying state	-	Virginia
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between telephone lineman and fiber technologist education

There are a few differences between a telephone lineman and a fiber technologist in terms of educational background:

	Telephone Lineman	Fiber Technologist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering Technology	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	-	-

Telephone lineman vs fiber technologist demographics

Here are the differences between telephone linemen' and fiber technologists' demographics:

	Telephone Lineman	Fiber Technologist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 96.0% Female, 4.0%	Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 4.2% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.0% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between telephone lineman and fiber technologist duties and responsibilities

Telephone lineman example responsibilities.

Participate in the construction or removal of telecommunication towers or associate support structures.
Obtain multiple certifications for various machines.

Fiber technologist example responsibilities.

Manage the OSP splicing department for the past year successfully with limit time, tools, and under train techs.
Open and close department independently and also assist surgical staff by managing QC and providing radiopharmaceuticals as needed for procedures.
Engineer broadband optical transmission systems using DWDM.
Used fusion splicer to repair breaks find by OTDR tests.
Design & build CWDM and DWDM fiber optic jumper cords.
Install and troubleshoot electronic cctv and access control point security systems.

Telephone lineman vs fiber technologist skills

Common telephone lineman skills

Augers, 100%

Common fiber technologist skills

OTDR, 8%
OSP, 7%
Fiber Optic Cables, 7%
Hand Tools, 6%
Ladders, 6%
ST, 6%

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Telephone Lineman
Telephone Lineman vs Fiber Technologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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