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Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers

Install and repair telecommunications cable, including fiber optics.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
    • Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduits running through trenches.
    • Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
    • Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
    • Measure signal strength at utility poles, using electronic test equipment.
    • Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
    • Dig trenches for underground wires or cables.
    • Explain cable service to subscribers after installation, and collect any installation fees due.
    • Use a variety of construction equipment to complete installations, such as digger derricks, trenchers, or cable plows.
    • Place insulation over conductors, or seal splices with moisture-proof covering.
    • Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
    • Fill and tamp holes, using cement, earth, and tamping devices.
    • Set up service for customers, installing, connecting, testing, or adjusting equipment.
    • Inspect or test lines or cables, recording and analyzing test results, to assess transmission characteristics and locate faults or malfunctions.
    • String cables between structures and lines from poles, towers, or trenches, and pull lines to proper tension.
    • Splice cables, using hand tools, epoxy, or mechanical equipment.
    • Explain cable service to subscribers after installation, and collect any installation fees due.
    • Pull cable through ducts by hand or with winches.
    • Compute impedance of wires from poles to houses to determine additional resistance needed for reducing signals to desired levels.
    • Dig holes for power poles, using power augers or shovels, set poles in place with cranes, and hoist poles upright, using winches.
    • Travel to customers' premises to install, maintain, or repair audio and visual electronic reception equipment or accessories.
    • 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.
    • Dig holes for power poles, using power augers or shovels, set poles in place with cranes, and hoist poles upright, using winches.
    • Clean or maintain tools or test equipment.
    • Install equipment such as amplifiers or repeaters to maintain the strength of communications transmissions.

    Skills

    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    Abilities

    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    Knowledge

    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    More than 1 year on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    79990/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    38.46/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    1,390
    Yearly Projected Openings
    120

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Perseverance

    Tools

    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Articulating boom lift
    • Banders
    • Boring machines
    • Cable reels
    • Card key lock
    • Claw hammer
    • Derricks
    • Diagonal cut pliers
    • Dollies
    • Electrical power sensors
    • Electronic measuring probes
    • Extension pole
    • Fish tape
    • Hacksaw
    • Hex keys
    • Ladders
    • Leak testing equipment
    • Level meter
    • Levels
    • Light bulb changer
    • Locking pliers
    • Longnose pliers
    • Metal cutters
    • Multimeters
    • Needlenose pliers
    • Network routers
    • Network switches
    • Non contact sensors
    • Notebook computers
    • Ohmmeters
    • Power buffers
    • Power drills
    • Power meters
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Reflectometers
    • Resin guns
    • Saws
    • Screwdrivers
    • Security cameras
    • Shears
    • Sheaves or pulleys
    • Signal generators
    • Soldering iron
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Staple guns
    • Stripping tools
    • Tampers
    • Tape measures
    • Tow trucks
    • Trenching machines
    • Two way radios
    • Videoscopes
    • WLAN wireless access network equipment and components
    • Winches
    • Wire cutters
    • Wire lug crimping tool
    • Wire or cable cutter
    • Wire wrapping tool

    Technology

    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Facilities management software
    • Internet browser software
    • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Transaction security and virus protection software
    • Word processing software