Tracer vs central office technician

The differences between tracers and central office technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tracer has an average salary of $43,913, which is higher than the $39,043 average annual salary of a central office technician.

The top three skills for a tracer include government agencies, customer service and patient accounts. The most important skills for a central office technician are fiber optic cables, switches, and T1.

Tracer vs central office technician overview

	Tracer	Central Office Technician
Yearly salary	$43,913	$39,043
Hourly rate	$21.11	$18.77
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	4,824	79,138
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Tracer vs central office technician salary

Tracers and central office technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tracer	Central Office Technician
Average salary	$43,913	$39,043
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $66,000	Between $24,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Chicago Public Schools	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between tracer and central office technician education

There are a few differences between a tracer and a central office technician in terms of educational background:

	Tracer	Central Office Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Business	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	New York University	University of Pennsylvania

Tracer vs central office technician demographics

Here are the differences between tracers' and central office technicians' demographics:

	Tracer	Central Office Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 36.3% Female, 63.7%	Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between tracer and central office technician duties and responsibilities

Tracer example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain an internal database system to generate reports and produce accurate account information for patients and insurance companies.
Install cable systems along with internet and VoIp phone services
Install cable TV services, high speed Internet and VOIP services.
Work with RDN, calling agents on updates, TLO and Accurint, court records calling maker.
Skip tracing - locate debtors using various search methods such as Experian, IRB, MySpace, Facebook, etc.
Install and set up FLIR, PTZ, and CCTV cameras.

Central office technician example responsibilities.

Manage assigned Ericsson AXE patch upgrades and retrofits for all AXE sites.
Assist in managing CDMA network, Voice/EVDO circuit's layouts, CDM circuit inventory and roll over's for cell sites.
Install all Nortel DMS series equipment.
Operate power-meters, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, and various RF test equipment.
Install and troubleshoot telecommunications circuits and devices including legacy, asynchronous, SONET, and Ethernet equipment.
Associate duties include running cable, lacing, stitching, wire wrapping, mounting bays, etc.

Tracer vs central office technician skills

Common tracer skills

Government Agencies, 39%
Customer Service, 20%
Patient Accounts, 18%
Outbound Calls, 13%
Research Studies, 10%

Common central office technician skills

Fiber Optic Cables, 8%
Switches, 7%
T1, 5%
Provisioning, 5%
DS3, 4%
IP, 4%

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Tracer vs Central Office Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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