This nugget of info comes thanks to the Fiber Optic Association's monthly newsletter. In its April 2012 newsletter, the FOA pointed out that it (the FOA) is mentioned in the United States Department of Labor's "Occupational Outlook Handbook" in a section entitled "How to Become a Line Installer or Repairer."
"This website lists all sorts of interesting information," the FOA said, "including what these workers do in their jobs, how they get trained and certified (where the FOA is referenced) and something everybody is interested in - sections on 'Pay' and 'Job Outlook.'"
The graphic at the bottom of this screen comes from the online handbook. The chart shows the median annual wages of line installers and repairers ($54,290) and those of installation, maintenance and repair occupations ($40,120) exceed the average of all occupations in the U.S. economy ($33,840) by a sizable margin. Notably, though, these numbers are not restricted to telecom industries but rather also include jobs such as natural gas distribution; electric power generation, transmission and distribution; local government; building equipment contractors; and utility system construction.
The Department of Labor's handbook states, "The median annual wage of telecommunications line installers and repairers was $50,850 in May 2010. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $26,910 and the top 10 percent earned $73,320."
The handbook also provides the following median annual wages, from May 2010, in industries that employ the largest numbers of telecom line installers and repairers.
- Other telecommunications - $62,490
- Wired telecommunications carriers - $57,540
- Cable and other subscription programming - $43,360
- Building equipment contractors - $39,890
- Utility system construction - $36,770
The section of the online handbook that discusses becoming a line installer/repairer (and mentions the Fiber Optic Association) can be found here. The section discussing pay scales can be found here. And the section that talks about the job outlook (which projects job growth in these professions to be on par with the average for all occupations) can be found here.
You can see the Fiber Optic Association's April 2012 newsletter here.
