# Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers

> Install, set up, rearrange, or remove switching, distribution, routing, and dialing equipment used in central offices or headends. Service or repair telephone, cable television, Internet, and other communications equipment on customers' property. May install communications equipment or communications wiring in buildings.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telecommunications-equipment-installers-and-repairers-except-line-installers
- SOC code: 49-2022.00
- Career family: Installation and repair
- Median annual pay: $63,890 (10th percentile $44,240, 90th percentile $96,730)
- Projected growth: Decline, -3.3%
- Openings a year: 11,300
- Typical entry education: Postsecondary certificate
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCI)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 90 |
| Investigative (I) | 24 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 14 |
| Enterprising (E) | 10 |
| Conventional (C) | 64 |

## What you'd do

- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment (importance 81/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 78/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 74/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 73/100)
- Getting Information (importance 71/100)
- Controlling Machines and Processes (importance 70/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 69/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 69/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 69/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 68/100)

## Skills

Repairing, Troubleshooting, Critical Thinking, Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Installation, Active Listening, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Equipment Maintenance

## Knowledge

Telecommunications, Computers and Electronics, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Engineering and Technology, Communications and Media, Administration and Management, Design, Mechanical

## Also called

Break Fix Technician (Break Fix Tech), Broadband Installer, Broadband Specialist, Broadband Technician (Broadband Tech), Cable TV Installer (Cable Television Installer), Cable TV Line Technician (Cable Television Line Technician), Cable TV Tech (Cable Television Technician), Call Box Wirer, Call Circuit Worker, Central Office Trouble Shooter

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4701) (CIP 4701, 301 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Bunker Hill Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/bunker-hill-community-college-334) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $126,485 | $136,013 | not reported |
| [Western Wyoming Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/western-wyoming-community-college-3244) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $85,961 | $120,646 | not reported |
| [New River Community College-Virginia](https://www.collegesref.com/college/new-river-community-college-virginia-1859) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $74,804 | $84,571 | not reported |
| [Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/thaddeus-stevens-college-of-technology-2715) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $67,236 | $80,864 | $11,000 |
| [Ranken Technical College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/ranken-technical-college-2188) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $59,880 | $77,127 | $12,000 |
| [Shelton State Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/shelton-state-community-college-2408) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $84,004 | $74,695 | not reported |
| [Lurleen B Wallace Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/lurleen-b-wallace-community-college-1556) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $47,234 | $71,895 | not reported |
| [Northwest Iowa Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/northwest-iowa-community-college-1948) | Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | not reported | $66,319 | not reported |

## Related careers

- [Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telecommunications-line-installers-and-repairers): $74,330 median pay
- [Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/radio-cellular-and-tower-equipment-installers-and-repairers): $63,520 median pay
- [Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-repairers-commercial-and-industrial-equipment): $74,090 median pay
- [Telecommunications Engineering Specialists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telecommunications-engineering-specialists): $134,050 median pay
- [Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/audiovisual-equipment-installers-and-repairers): $52,600 median pay
- [Power Distributors and Dispatchers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/power-distributors-and-dispatchers): $106,730 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.