Installation, Maintenance & Repair
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
Also called: Cable Splicer, Cable Tech (Cable Technician), Cable TV Tech (Cable Television Technician), Combination Technician (Combination Tech)
US median pay
$74,330
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-3.4%
declining
Openings a year (US)
8,000
103,400 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.
What they do day to day
- Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
- Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
- Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
- Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment, such as digital subscriber line modems.
- Access specific areas to string lines, or install terminal boxes, auxiliary equipment, or appliances, using bucket trucks, climbing poles or ladders, or entering tunnels, trenches, or crawl spaces.
- Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.
- Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
- Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
- Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.
- Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Quality Control Analysis3.1/5
- Troubleshooting3.0/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Repairing3.0/5
- Operations Monitoring3.0/5
- Operation and Control3.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0/5
- Installation3.0/5
Knowledge
- Telecommunications4.4/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2/5
- Engineering and Technology4.0/5
- Computers and Electronics3.9/5
- Public Safety and Security3.9/5
- Building and Construction3.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.