Telecommunications Equipment Installer and Repairer, Except Line Installers Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers earn a median of $63,890 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 25% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $30.72/hr. The middle half earn between $51,830 and $81,690. The top 10% earn $96,730 or more.

The median hourly wage for telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers is $30.72 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $63,890 annual median works out to about $5,320 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers earn less than $44,240 a year and the bottom quarter less than $51,830 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Rarely. Even the 90th percentile is $96,730, so fewer than 10% of telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers earn $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is Alaska at $95,850.

The highest state medians for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers are Alaska ($95,850), North Dakota ($90,890), New Hampshire ($85,240) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, North Dakota moves to the top at $102,171.

BLS does not split telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $96,730, against a median of $63,890 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Alaska ($95,850), North Dakota ($90,890), New Hampshire ($85,240).

Not a degree, but you do need credentialed training: BLS lists a postsecondary non-degree award (a certificate or license program) as the typical entry route for Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for telecom technicians is a postsecondary nondegree award. Once hired, BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing medium preparation.

No. BLS projects employment to fall 3.3% over 2025–2035, a loss of 4,700 jobs (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 11,300 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Telecommunications technicians, also known as telecom technicians, install and maintain telecommunications infrastructure. A core O*NET task: collaborate with other workers to locate and correct malfunctions. Employers most often ask for Computer aided design CAD software, Electronic mail software, Office suite software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 27% of telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 74% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 65% say their schedule is regular and 32% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 9.4% of telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, against 47.1% of all employed people: a heavily male-dominated occupation. 25.0% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 41.6 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages, for the Census group "Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers".