Telecommunications Cable Technician
What the work is
Joins, terminates and repairs copper and fibre optic telecommunications cables installed in underground pipes, trenches and overhead systems.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Inspects and tests telecommunications cables to identify faults and determine repair requirements
- Locates and excavates cable faults using appropriate tools and equipment
- Joins and terminates copper and fibre optic cables using appropriate connectors and splicing techniques
- Installs and repairs underground pipes and trenches to accommodate telecommunications cables
- Installs and repairs overhead systems for telecommunications cables
- Tests and measures cable performance using specialised equipment
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a telecommunications crew installing and repairing phone and internet lines, towers and cabling across a country region. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A farm that has been offline for a week gets its connection back and calls you a legend
- You trace a fault in a pit by the roadside and the whole street's lines come alive
- A building full of neat, labelled cables that anyone could follow in ten years' time
Hard days
- Working on a pole or in a pit in the rain with no signal on your own phone
- Customers who have been disconnected for days and are, quite fairly, furious
- Finding that someone dug through the cable you needed, and did not report it
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 382332, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.