Telecommunications Technician
Key facts
Telecommunications technicians install, test, maintain and troubleshoot telecommunications systems. They repair or replace defective devices and equipment and maintain a safe working environment and a complete inventory of supplies. They also provide user or customer assistance.
Telecommunications technicians are vital for maintaining and improving the systems that power our modern world. Your day might involve installing new cabling, testing equipment performance, diagnosing and repairing faults, or providing technical support to users. You’ll work with a variety of technologies, from fiber optics to wireless networks, ensuring reliable communication services. Safety is paramount, and you'll be responsible for maintaining a secure work environment and managing inventory.
- • Install, configure, and maintain telecommunications equipment, including routers, switches, and cabling.
- • Test and troubleshoot network issues, identifying and resolving problems efficiently.
- • Repair or replace defective hardware and components, minimizing downtime.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Electrical and electronic trades workers — 42 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy and 2 more.
Longest-running shortage: Belgium, 4 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta, United Kingdom)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $63,890 2025-05 | −4.2% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +19.2% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Shortage reported Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | — |
| United Kingdom | Not reported | £34,073 2025-provisional | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Open Government Licence v3.0
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for telecommunications technician
The outlook for telecommunications technician reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could telecommunications technician change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- communicate with customers
- solder electronics
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- upgrade firmware
- use session border controller
- operate two-way radio systems
Tasks most exposed to automation
- log transmitter readings
- estimate duration of work
- operate signal generator
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Construction
A typical day as a telecommunications technician
09 09:00 · Morning install cable TV services
10 10:30 · Mid-morning install electronic communication equipment
12 12:00 · Midday install signal repeaters
14 14:00 · Afternoon operate call distribution system
15 15:30 · Late afternoon log transmitter readings
17 17:00 · Wrap-up operate digging construction equipment
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
-
seal wires
Fasten and insulate electric or communications wires or cables.
-
splice cable
Join and weave electric and communications cable and trunk lines together.
-
install electronic communication equipment
Set up and deploy digital and analogue electronic communications. Understand electronic diagrams and equipment specifications.
-
install cable TV services
Ensure that home or offices are properly wired to receive cable TV.
-
repair wiring
Find faults in wires or cables by using specialised equipment and repair these faults depending on type of wiring.
-
install signal repeaters
Set up and configure devices which enhance strength of signal of a communication channel to enable proper reception and reproduction in further places.
-
install low voltage wiring
Plan, deploy, troubleshoot and test low voltage wiring.
-
operate two-way radio systems
Use radios that can receive and transmit sound signals in order to communicate with similar radios on the same frequency such as mobile phones and walkie talkies.
-
use communication equipment
Set up, test and operate different types of communication equipment such as transmission equipment, digital network equipment, or telecommunications equipment.
-
operate private branch exchange
Handle Private Branch Exchange (PBX), a telecommunication system within an organisation that switches calls between users on local lines. At the same time the system allows all users to share external phone lines.
-
operate call distribution system
Apply assigning methods (mostly used in call centres) to provide clients with the best possible service by connecting them with the most suitable agent.
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communicate with customers
Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
-
solder electronics
Operate and use soldering tools and soldering iron, which supply high temperatures to melt the solder and to join electronic components.
-
operate digging construction equipment
Operate and use construction equipment, such as digger derricks, backhoes, track hoes, front-end loaders, trenchers, or cable ploughs.
-
upgrade firmware
Update basic or integrated software included in devices, network components and embedded systems.
-
operate aerial work platforms
Tend mechanical devices that allow momentary access to high, usually inaccessible areas. Ensure your own safety and the safety of surrounding people.
-
operate signal generator
Use electronic devices or software tone generators that produce digital or analog repeating or non-repeating electronic signals in order to design, test and repair electronic and acoustic equipment.
-
log transmitter readings
Log transmitter observations such as calibrations of remote control equipment, equipment performance measurements, antenna field strength measurements, and other readings.
-
operate electronic measuring instruments
Tend a wide variety of devices for measuring electronic characteristics of system components, such as optical power meter, fibre power meter, digital power meter and multimeter.
concepts of telecommunications
The telecommunication principles, theories, models, equipment and processes such as transfer rate, bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio, bit error ratio and C/N ratio, as well as the effect of the qualities of the transmission path on the operation and quality of telecommunications.
direct inward dialing
The telecommunication service that provides a company with a series of telephone numbers for internal use, such as individual telephone numbers for each employee or every workstation, so that a company does not need another line for every connection.
ICT communications protocols
The system of rules which allow the exchange of information between computers or other devices via computer networks.
procurement of ICT network equipment
The products available from network equipment providers and methods for selecting and procuring the equipment.
telecommunication trunking
The method of providing network access to many clients while keeping smaller number of connection components by grouping and sharing connection circuits and frequencies.
Cisco
The products available from the network equipment provider Cisco and methods for selecting and procuring the equipment.
telecom regulations
Code of rules to protect telecommunication consumers, ensuring high standards of communication services such as equivalent and affordable access, connectivity, transparency of contracts or security against malware. The regulation covers web-based and traditional services.
Path to become a telecommunications technician
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Upper secondary education
160 programmes in 24 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 54 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
These are 6 of 214.
Sources
- 1. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (collegescorecard.ed.gov), CC BY. Data as at 10/06/2026. Adapted by NexPath.
- 2. Source: Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Education), CRICOS, data.gov.au, CC BY 2.5 AU. Data as at 01/09/2026. Adapted by NexPath.
- 3. Source: South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), All Qualifications and Unit Standards (allqs.saqa.org.za).
- 4. Source: Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (students.kuccps.ac.ke).
- 5. Source: Study in Serbia, an initiative of Foundation Tempus (bazaobrazovanja.rs).
- 6. Contains information from MySkillsFuture Course Run accessed on 2026-09-28 from data.gov.sg which is made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0 (https://data.gov.sg/open-data-licence)
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does telecommunications technician fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of education or training is needed to become a telecommunications technician?
What are the most important skills for a telecommunications technician to possess?
Is it common to work independently as a telecommunications technician?
How much does Telecommunications Technician pay in the United States?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data