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.
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. The role reports a median annual salary of $62,630 in the US and is projected to decline by 4% over the next decade. Entry typically requires a Postsecondary nondegree award, and shows moderate AI exposure (0.52 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include Troubleshooting, Repairing, Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis, Operations Monitoring.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £39,998 a year for Telecoms and related network installers and repairers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £34,515 to £46,505 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 5242). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Customer and Personal Service
- Telecommunications
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- Engineering and Technology
A day in the life
You start your day reviewing service tickets, then drive to a business whose phone and internet lines have stopped working. You test circuits and components to isolate the problem, trace it to a damaged cable in a street cabinet and replace it. Next you install new data and phone lines in an office, running wires through ceilings and connecting them to switching equipment. Mid-morning you climb a ladder to reach an outdoor junction box, following safety rules carefully. After lunch you test newly installed equipment to make sure it meets specifications, then explain to the customer how to use the new system and answer their questions. Later you visit a manhole to repair an underground connection. Your day ends with updating job records. The work can take you into cramped or uncomfortable spaces in all weather, but restoring vital communications quickly is deeply satisfying.
Illustrative: one typical day, written from the O*NET task statements for this occupation. Real days vary by employer and seniority.
What you'd actually do
- Demonstrate equipment to customers and explain its use, responding to any inquiries or complaints.
- Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, polarity probes, and other hand tools.
- Test repaired, newly installed, or updated equipment to ensure that it functions properly and conforms to specifications, using test equipment and observation.
- Climb poles and ladders, use truck-mounted booms, and enter areas such as manholes and cable vaults to install, maintain, or inspect equipment.
- Assemble and install communication equipment such as data and telephone communication lines, wiring, switching equipment, wiring frames, power apparatus, computer systems, and networks.
- Run wires between components and to outside cable systems, connecting them to wires from telephone poles or underground cable accesses.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers do?
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.
What does a typical day look like in Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers?
You start your day reviewing service tickets, then drive to a business whose phone and internet lines have stopped working. You test circuits and components to isolate the problem, trace it to a damaged cable in a street cabinet and replace it. Next you install new data and phone lines in an office, running wires through ceilings and connecting them to switching equipment. Mid-morning you climb a ladder to reach an outdoor junction box, following safety rules carefully.
How much does Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers earn?
The median annual salary for Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers in the US is $62,630.
What is the job outlook for Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers?
The role is projected to decline by 4% over the next decade. Current US employment is approximately 156,900 workers.
How do I become telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers?
The typical entry education is a Postsecondary nondegree award. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include Troubleshooting, Repairing, Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers?
Our AI-durability model gives Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers a score of 0.52 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers has low barrier to entry — generally accessible — you can enter with basic credentials and on-the-job learning.