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Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · SOC 49-2022

3.3% AI Exposure — Medium
$63,890
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
23,600
Proj. Annual Openings
140,920
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-6.3%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
97/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 49-2022 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
3.3%
Medium · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
66/100
High friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$63,890
H-1B offered wage $51,958; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
23,600
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -4.2%.
Observed/proxy demand
1
FY2025 certified LCAs; 27,404 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

TroubleshootingRepairingCritical ThinkingOperations MonitoringQuality Control Analysis
  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

Best transitions from here

Explore all pathways

Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure3.3%
AI Resiliency97/100
Exposure BandMedium
Sector Avg. Exposure1.6%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

24.9%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic3.3%
AI capability · OpenAI28.1%
AI ability · AIOE43.3%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne36%

AI could do ~28.1% of this role but only ~3.3% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.

Top Skills

1.Troubleshooting
2.Repairing
3.Critical Thinking
4.Operations Monitoring
5.Quality Control Analysis

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

28
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
1
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$51,958
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#400 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

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.

Common titles: Broadband Technician, Central Office Technician, Combination Technician, Customer Service Technician (CST), Field Technician, Install and Repair Technician

Representative Tasks

  • 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.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Explain use of products or services.
  • Test communications equipment to ensure proper functioning.
  • Test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning.
  • Install electrical components, equipment, or systems.
  • Assemble electrical components, subsystems, or systems.

Tools & Technologies

Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotFluke ClearSight AnalyzerFluke Networks TechAdvisor Field Access SystemGeographic information system GIS systems

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
1.9%
Avg AI Exposure
4
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 49-2022: 2019 — employment: 208,480, median wage: $57,910; 2020 — employment: 190,510, median wage: $61,470; 2021 — employment: 172,830, median wage: $60,370; 2022 — employment: 168,180, median wage: $59,960; 2023 — employment: 159,670, median wage: $61,270; 2025 — employment: 140,920, median wage: $63,890.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure3.3%1.6%
OutlookAverage24% Bright
Median Salary$63,890N/A
AI Resiliency97/100N/A