An associate's degree in communications technology is the minimum required education for a person interested in pursuing a career as a telephone technician. Telephone technicians are responsible for the installation and troubleshooting of home and commercial phone lines. They are also responsible for setting up voice mailboxes and replacing faulty wiring.
An Associate of Applied Science in Communications Technology program focuses mainly on telecommunications courses and requires only two or three general education classes. Many of the communications classes have a laboratory component, and students have several opportunities to gain hands-on experience using communications technology.
Some of the skills learned in an associate's degree program in communications technology include the installation and maintenance of residential and commercial telephone devices and fiber optic cable systems. Other topics include VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), digital subscriber lines, local area networks and worker safety. A course on interpersonal communication is also likely to be included because telephone technicians interact with co-workers and customers frequently. A co-op or internship component gives students the chance to gain practical work experience; it is typically completed in the last semester of enrollment.
Career Information
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) provides no information on telephone technicians; however, it does look at the wired telecommunications industry as a whole. An 11% decrease in the employment of wired telecommunications professionals is expected for the 2008-2018 period. The primary reason for this poor job outlook figure is the increased movement towards fiber optic cables, which are reliable and require very little maintenance.
The BLS also reports that the median hourly wage of a telecommunications equipment installer and repairer was $26.73 in 2008. However, Payscale.com reports that the median hourly rate for telecommunications equipment installers with 1-4 years of experience was between $10.91 and $15.13 in 2010. This rate may reflect the potential salary range of a recent graduate of an associate's degree program in communications technology.
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