Job Overview People enjoy different TV shows from different stations and from differnt countries using a cable television. The people who are responsible in installing these equipment in every home of the clients are called the cable television technicians. Cable television technicians install, do inspections and maintenance and repair of the cables, amplifying equipment, antennas that are used in cable television transmission. Presently in the United States, there are approximately 142,560 staff serving as technicians working in the installation and repair sector of the pay television services industry like cable television services.
Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required
Being a technician is being adept with the technical skills needed in performing the duties at work. Many cable television service technicians have a technical training in electronics field. Majority of the employers prefer to hire those with this training rather than those who do not have one. Trainings include both one and two year programs offered by the many technical institutes and community colleges as well as some trade schools. The training comprise of subjects in the basics of electrical wiring and electronics, physics, broadcasting theory and practice as well as blueprint and schematic diagram reading. There are also certification courses that can be taken from the National Cable Television Institute as distance learning program offerings.
Skills and Abilities
It is necessary for a cable television technician to have an excellent mechanical aptitude, physical fitness and good agility as well as the ability to work on areas with limited spaces and extreme heights. He should be able to have the technical skills involved in cable and other equipment installation and have a very good critical thinking skills to diagnose cable and cable related problems for repair. The ability to work alone and with a team is a must. Flexibility in communicating with the many customers should be developed well so as to maintain a good rapport althroughout the work period.
Duties
Be it in large cities or in small towns, cable television techincians work for cable television companies or corporations. The work is moderately heavy in nature as it involves occasional lifting and transportation of equipment around 50 pounds in weight.
They do a wide range of duties or labor. They may be involved in equipment installation in households, tracing telephone cable routes, working in tunnels and underground cable passageways, inspecting these cables for physical damage, corrosion and functioning, locating signal breakdowns and working in pole mounted amplifiers analyzing the signal patterns and evaluating receptions. All these are being reported to the technical supervisor of the company handling the technicians in a specific area.
Earnings and Job Outlook
For the non supervisory position as a cable television technician, the usual annual income averages to around 37,530 U.S. dollars. The salaries may differ based on the type of job, the employees' years of experience in the field, the type and the location of the employer as well as the hours worked in a day. At the higher end of the pay scale, those cable television repairers and technicians may earn as high as 65,000 U.S. dollars annually. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this pay television service industry is expected to grow rapidly than the usual until the year of 2014.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.