I have been Fiber splicing fiber for 15 years and in the industry for over 20. I have spliced fiber for Time Warner, Comcast, Charter, Insight, Mcleod USA, Level 3, SBC, Verizon, Cox, WOW, SA, AT&T, MCI, Sprint and many smaller companies. There use to be a lot of good money to be made but now that most of the new build/upgrades are behind us and the market was flooded with cheap equipment, there are alot of self proclaimed fiber splicers out there that are willing to work for peanuts and are nothing more the "set button" pushers. I now specialize in 'Hot Cut Overs/Rolls and I am still able to get top dollar for my work but I have a very good reputation in the industy which took years to build and I will not roll a truck for what FTTH is offer to pay, and what they want for the money, rear easment aerial splicing of ladders, ring cut/mid sheath entry work that should be being done by techs with several years experiance not guys fresh off the street. 5 years ago I had 20 + guys splicing for me some where what I call splicers (they could sit and burn together fibers) but most of the guys where top notch fiber technician who could build any enclosure out there and trouble any problem, those are the guys the industry has lost, because of prices being paid. Most of them are out of the industry now or went to work for MSO's, but all it takes is one call when the right job comes along and they all take time off to go back and do a "Roll" I will not work for less then $25 a splice + setup costs, I still manage to do pretty well and get 1 or 2 good jobs a month.
Its a shame that the industry as a whole as lost the "Pride" in the work that it turns out. There is a few old timers who still care but they are far and few between, a lot of good cable dogs have given up and left the industry, and the industry is the one being hurt by by.
Verizon is geeting what it ask for a messed up system because they did not want to pay for quality work, so got what they paid for.
Re: Advice on starting out in fiber splicing
Member #: 15180
Registered: 1996-2001
Posted:
116
Name:
Jon Ray
Name:
Jon Ray
Occupation:
OSP Fiber Engineer
Location:
Tampa, FL
Personal:
Experience:
~42 years
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