# Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

> Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telecommunications-line-installers-and-repairers
- SOC code: 49-9052.00
- Career family: Installation and repair
- Median annual pay: $74,330 (10th percentile $45,310, 90th percentile $103,680)
- Projected growth: Decline, -3.4%
- Openings a year: 8,000
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCI)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 91 |
| Investigative (I) | 25 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 10 |
| Enterprising (E) | 17 |
| Conventional (C) | 53 |

## What you'd do

- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment (importance 81/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 79/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 78/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 78/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 77/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 76/100)
- Getting Information (importance 76/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 71/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 71/100)
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public (importance 70/100)

## Skills

Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Speaking, Active Listening, Coordination, Equipment Maintenance, Installation, Judgment and Decision Making, Operation and Control

## Knowledge

Telecommunications, Customer and Personal Service, Engineering and Technology, Computers and Electronics, Public Safety and Security, Building and Construction, Production and Processing, English Language, Design, Transportation

## Also called

Broadband Cable Installer, Cable Installer, Cable Repairer, Cable Splicer, Cable Systems Installer, Cable Tech (Cable Technician), Cable TV Installer (Cable Television Installer), Cable TV Tech (Cable Television Technician), Cable Wirer, CCTV Technician (Closed-circuit Television Technician)

## 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 Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telecommunications-equipment-installers-and-repairers-except-line-installers): $63,890 median pay
- [Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/electrical-power-line-installers-and-repairers): $95,320 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
- [Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/audiovisual-equipment-installers-and-repairers): $52,600 median pay
- [Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-installers-and-repairers-transportation-equipment): $84,890 median pay
- [Electricians](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/electricians): $63,190 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.