fiber optic installer salary

 fiber optic installer salary The development of fiber optic cables has created substantial job opportunities for technicians with the skills to design and install these systems. However, wages for these technicians vary widely across the country and based upon whether the technician is certified.

Fiber Optic Technician Job Description

Fiber optic technicians install and repair fiber optic cables used for telecommunications and the internet. They are responsible for laying underground cables in trenches, pulling cables in conduits, running tests and troubleshooting equipment.

The work is physical and can be dangerous at times. Technicians must sometimes work in extreme weather conditions, climb utility poles, crawl in tight spaces or work at night. A technician needs to know how to handle and operate hand and power tools.

In addition to engineering and technical skills, fiber optic technicians need to have good people skills. They need to be comfortable dealing with customers in their homes and know how to create good customer satisfaction. A technician may also be called upon to promote other services of the company, so they need to have a thorough knowledge of their employer’s history and organization.

Fiber Optic Electrician or Technician Education Requirements

Although you only need a high school diploma to get hired for an entry-level position, employers pay the highest wages to those technicians who are certified. The Fiber Optics Association Certified Fiber Optic Technician designation is the top certification to receive.

Aspiring technicians can attend FOA-approved schools, such as community colleges, that have training courses that meet FOA’s guidelines. It also helps to combine education with on-the-job experience. In addition, employers would like to have candidates who have an associate's degree in telecommunications engineering along with industry certifications.

Fiber Optic Technician Industry

When looking for fiber optic technicians, employers prefer to hire technicians who have obtained certification from the Fiber Optics Association.

According to PayScale, the average salary for a certified fiber optic technician nation-wide is $59,870 or $23.13 per hour.

Texas has the highest number of technicians, almost 15,000, but its state average wage of $55,080 is below the national wage average of $59,670 for all technicians, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The largest portion of technicians, almost 6,000, are employed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They have average earnings of $50,130. On the other hand, the Houston area employs slightly more than 2,500 technicians, but their earnings are $67,540.

California is next, also with almost 15,000 technicians, who earn an average fiber optic worker salary of $66,340. New York is the third-largest employer with nearly 12,000 technicians earning an average of $70,960.

New Jersey, with 4,600 technicians, is the top-paying state with an average wage of $87,550. Nevada is the lowest-paying state with 1,120 technicians earning an average of $40,820.

The highest-paying metropolitan area is Boston/Cambridge with an annual mean wage of $82,100 or $39.14 per hour. However, the cost of living in Boston is 62.4 percent above the national average.

At the lower end of major metropolitan areas, the fiber optic technician salary in Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Roswell, for example, is an average of $43,270 with a cost of living that is 7.5 percent above the national average.

Fiber Optics Technician Growth Trend

According to an analysis by the BLS, fiber optics job opportunities in telecommunications are only expected to grow 1 percent over the next 10 years. The data show that most businesses and homes already have access to the internet and major equipment additions to telecommunications systems are not expected. Most of the work will be to upgrade bandwidths and increase capacities.