Telephone technician vs cable technician

The differences between telephone 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 $45,477 average annual salary of a telephone technician.

The top three skills for a telephone technician include fiber optic, phone system and PBX. The most important skills for a cable technician are broadband, customer service, and ladders.

Telephone technician vs cable technician overview

	Telephone Technician	Cable Technician
Yearly salary	$45,477	$47,289
Hourly rate	$21.86	$22.74
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	45,522	120,249
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 39%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Telephone technician vs cable technician salary

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

	Telephone Technician	Cable Technician
Average salary	$45,477	$47,289
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $59,000	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 telephone technician and cable technician education

There are a few differences between a telephone technician and a cable technician in terms of educational background:

	Telephone Technician	Cable Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 39%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon	New York University

Telephone technician vs cable technician demographics

Here are the differences between telephone technicians' and cable technicians' demographics:

	Telephone Technician	Cable Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8%	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 57.7% 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 telephone technician and cable technician duties and responsibilities

Telephone technician example responsibilities.

Implement and manage UHF radio base stations, repeaters, and command network, effectively linking all regional headquarters.
Pull CAT5 cable from workstations to closets, and connect to patch panels.
Install and terminate CAT5, CAT6 and multi-pair cabling in businesses for new or retrofit data network.
Set up MDF s and IDF's to include racks and trays, terminate both copper and fiber.
Install equipment racks, ladder racks, cable management systems along with the electronic data switches and associate hardware.
Install trunks lines, T1's switches (small and large).

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

Telephone technician vs cable technician skills

Common telephone technician skills

Fiber Optic, 10%
Phone System, 9%
PBX, 7%
System Installation, 5%
Telephone Lines, 5%
Avaya, 4%

Common cable technician skills

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

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Telephone Technician
Telephone Technician vs Cable Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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