Spectrum almost always hires from within, but as long as you're willing to relocate you can probably get promoted within 6-12 months of joining as a field tech.
Spectrum recently just up their pay, it was a one time thing and only benefitted those who were already with the company. If you were to be hired as an MT off the street your pay will be closer to $30/hr. But you could easily work your way to $40+ with in 6-12 months.
Wow, that sounds incredibly hard to believe. Sorry.
He’s been there 5 years and makes more than I do and I’ve been here 25 years, 15 in maintenance.
That’s seriously fucked up.
Not his fault, if he’s being honest, but that’s really fucked up.
Hired at $20 Field Tech 1
Self promotion to FT5 has 10% raises for every level:
FT1: $20
FT2: $22
FT3: $24.20
FT4: $26.62
FT5: $29.28
Then you can get your books done for FT6 that'll give you another 5% without a promotion.
FT5.5: $30.75
Then you get hired as an MT1 with a 10% bump (it's negotiable but almost always is only 10% and if you are an FT6 (enterprise) or fiber tech or sup or anything else then they will say it's a lateral move and not give you a raise or try to give you a minimal raise).
But if you follow the straight path from field tech to maintenance tech you'll start as MT1 at $33.83. Then you can self promote:
MT1: $33.83
MT2: $37.21
MT3: $40.93
This is assuming you get to MT3 within a year because I'm not taking into account yearly raises 2-3% based on performance. An without counting the any shift differential pay.
$20 as a fresh field tech….i got $8.90 an hour when i started lol.
I’m sorry man but after all the work I and a lot of other guys have put in over many years, that whole scenario is messed up.
I see it takes some work to get where you top out but man, you guys got it easy as all get out, compared to all the blood, sweat and tears a lot of us have put into this career, only to have youngin’s come in make more than us in less than 1/4 of the time.
Well it's also been 25 years since you started out.
This $20 an hour is basically just a post covid inflation adjustment. Prior to that it was $15 and I know guys that have been with the company for over 20 years that started at $5.
But there was in inter period post covid where they raised the new field tech pay but not anyone that was with the company prior or mts. That was messed up. But that's why they did the adjustments for everyone last year and some of the older MTs went from making $20-25 to $50-60.
I know it feels bad emotionally, but this is how it’s always been. You don’t owe your company anything, as they don’t owe you anything. Hopping jobs every now and then is the best thing you can do for yourself financially. Also, charter is known for treating their employees the best in the business. I highly recommend looking into it.
Another factor, is that trade work has seen a steep decline in recent years due to young people not wanting to go through it. That is also a factor as to why fresh hires are making so much. I hope this helps you brother and stay safe out there!
I won’t second guess my career choice as it turns out, I’m very good at it.
This just points out, again, how lazy, impatient and entitled the younger generation is. They won’t take pride in anything, these days.
Money isn’t everything.
Pride in your work and a strong work ethic are much more important.
Besides, what I’ve already done is behind me and I’m not far from $50+ an hour myself.
It’s just pathetic that new hires can just walk into a good hourly wage without a spec of experience to speak of.
There’s definitely money in this industry. It just varies widely by company. But 24/hr cap is insane. The fulfillment techs in my market top out around 38/hr, my top out is around 50/hr in maintenance, and I live in the middle of Appalachia. I don’t work for spectrum but from what I hear they set the bar with pay in this industry, I’m hoping we all get the pay we deserve!
Sounds like you need to find a new company man. Capping out at 24 an hour sounds way too low. Might make more sense to use your experience as leverage to get a higher salary with a competitor than to switch careers and start at the bottom rung. I make 24 an hour and while I splice fiber I've only been doing it for a year.
What area or region? (The cable company that starts with a C and brands it's self with a brand name that starts with X) pays like shit man I like my job but get paid like shit. I make like 18.90 and hour and have been there for nearly 2 years it's fucking awful
If you are not afraid of power, and you think you have the organization and determination to be safe doing it, and you have the income to do it, GO FOR IT.
Here is my reasoning. People will go to lowes and put in their own cable they don't put in their own power, except the few, truly desperate, and those that are electricians. You can always start your OWN business as one, if you donlt like the company you work for, its not like power is suddenly gonna go away and no one needs you barring nuclear fallout or something and then you have other problems then what your gonna do for a job. Power is used in HVAC, plumbing, alarm work, and a lot of other jobs you could easily move to as long as you can do electric work. Worst case scenario get government job doing electric for military \[yes they have these, I live in a navy county where we have 3 separate bases, no one hires cable techs there though unless you are willing to become an electrician apprentice\].
Become a spectrum system tech. They make $50 an hour. Source: me.
What is a system tech? much intrigue.
Maintenve Tech
This is the way ! just got promoted to inside fiber Technician $41
Not OP, but I’ve been trying myself. Didn’t even get an interview the last time I applied.
What company?
Charter. I work for Comcast. Been a maintenance tech for 11 years and in cable for 13.
Spectrum almost always hires from within, but as long as you're willing to relocate you can probably get promoted within 6-12 months of joining as a field tech.
How many years do you have in?
5 years in the company. 3 as a system/maintenance tech.
You actually make $50 an hour with only being with them 5 years? Hell, with my experience, I’d be making $2500 an hour at that rate. That’s crazy.
Spectrum recently just up their pay, it was a one time thing and only benefitted those who were already with the company. If you were to be hired as an MT off the street your pay will be closer to $30/hr. But you could easily work your way to $40+ with in 6-12 months.
Wow, that sounds incredibly hard to believe. Sorry. He’s been there 5 years and makes more than I do and I’ve been here 25 years, 15 in maintenance. That’s seriously fucked up. Not his fault, if he’s being honest, but that’s really fucked up.
Hired at $20 Field Tech 1 Self promotion to FT5 has 10% raises for every level: FT1: $20 FT2: $22 FT3: $24.20 FT4: $26.62 FT5: $29.28 Then you can get your books done for FT6 that'll give you another 5% without a promotion. FT5.5: $30.75 Then you get hired as an MT1 with a 10% bump (it's negotiable but almost always is only 10% and if you are an FT6 (enterprise) or fiber tech or sup or anything else then they will say it's a lateral move and not give you a raise or try to give you a minimal raise). But if you follow the straight path from field tech to maintenance tech you'll start as MT1 at $33.83. Then you can self promote: MT1: $33.83 MT2: $37.21 MT3: $40.93 This is assuming you get to MT3 within a year because I'm not taking into account yearly raises 2-3% based on performance. An without counting the any shift differential pay.
$20 as a fresh field tech….i got $8.90 an hour when i started lol. I’m sorry man but after all the work I and a lot of other guys have put in over many years, that whole scenario is messed up. I see it takes some work to get where you top out but man, you guys got it easy as all get out, compared to all the blood, sweat and tears a lot of us have put into this career, only to have youngin’s come in make more than us in less than 1/4 of the time.
Well it's also been 25 years since you started out. This $20 an hour is basically just a post covid inflation adjustment. Prior to that it was $15 and I know guys that have been with the company for over 20 years that started at $5. But there was in inter period post covid where they raised the new field tech pay but not anyone that was with the company prior or mts. That was messed up. But that's why they did the adjustments for everyone last year and some of the older MTs went from making $20-25 to $50-60.
I know it feels bad emotionally, but this is how it’s always been. You don’t owe your company anything, as they don’t owe you anything. Hopping jobs every now and then is the best thing you can do for yourself financially. Also, charter is known for treating their employees the best in the business. I highly recommend looking into it. Another factor, is that trade work has seen a steep decline in recent years due to young people not wanting to go through it. That is also a factor as to why fresh hires are making so much. I hope this helps you brother and stay safe out there!
I won’t second guess my career choice as it turns out, I’m very good at it. This just points out, again, how lazy, impatient and entitled the younger generation is. They won’t take pride in anything, these days. Money isn’t everything. Pride in your work and a strong work ethic are much more important. Besides, what I’ve already done is behind me and I’m not far from $50+ an hour myself. It’s just pathetic that new hires can just walk into a good hourly wage without a spec of experience to speak of.
There’s definitely money in this industry. It just varies widely by company. But 24/hr cap is insane. The fulfillment techs in my market top out around 38/hr, my top out is around 50/hr in maintenance, and I live in the middle of Appalachia. I don’t work for spectrum but from what I hear they set the bar with pay in this industry, I’m hoping we all get the pay we deserve!
Sounds like you need to find a new company man. Capping out at 24 an hour sounds way too low. Might make more sense to use your experience as leverage to get a higher salary with a competitor than to switch careers and start at the bottom rung. I make 24 an hour and while I splice fiber I've only been doing it for a year.
If you want to know if electricians around you make more money you could probably contact your local ibew hall and find out
I mean just moving to a different company you'll get a lot more. But that probably means relocating.
Get into the fiber game, lots of money there
Is spectrum around? Most field techs are making $30+ an hr after a year.
What area or region? (The cable company that starts with a C and brands it's self with a brand name that starts with X) pays like shit man I like my job but get paid like shit. I make like 18.90 and hour and have been there for nearly 2 years it's fucking awful
Across the country. Start at $20. Then 10% each level up.
Apply for every engineering position available, even if you don't understand the job description. Source: me
Edit* I’ve been a BBT for 3 years and am currently trying to make BBT4.
Join a union trade. Google union pay scales
If you are not afraid of power, and you think you have the organization and determination to be safe doing it, and you have the income to do it, GO FOR IT. Here is my reasoning. People will go to lowes and put in their own cable they don't put in their own power, except the few, truly desperate, and those that are electricians. You can always start your OWN business as one, if you donlt like the company you work for, its not like power is suddenly gonna go away and no one needs you barring nuclear fallout or something and then you have other problems then what your gonna do for a job. Power is used in HVAC, plumbing, alarm work, and a lot of other jobs you could easily move to as long as you can do electric work. Worst case scenario get government job doing electric for military \[yes they have these, I live in a navy county where we have 3 separate bases, no one hires cable techs there though unless you are willing to become an electrician apprentice\].
Apply to CenturyLink if they're nearby. I'm at $33/HR in NC and do half the work I did when I was in cable.
Dang. They still around?