At first glance, working in fast food and working as a skilled field technician may feel miles apart. But Jasmine Boyce has done both, and she claims the latter is “not as hard as you think.”
Like most in the trade, Boyce never even considered internet infrastructure as a means for steady income. But a friend working with rural communities to get internet access knew of a training program — and knew Boyce enjoyed hands-on work.
“At first, I was kind of apprehensive,” she said to Broadband Nation on joining the program. “I decided to do it and literally instantly fell in love with it. I wish I would have jumped at the opportunity quicker.”
It was a real “leap of faith,” as she described it — not knowing much about the technical requirements or whether she’d like it, but the fact she didn’t have to spend a lot of money learning the basics made it an easier risk to take.
Despite still being relatively new to working out in the field, she's already a national finalist in — putting her skills to the test at the OpTICPath Rodeo in Florida earlier this year.
But the route from trained to paid was not immediate — despite how many trades present speed-to-hire slogans. After completing the program, Boyce said she struggled to find work and at times questioned whether she'd ever land a job at all.
“It was really easy to feel discouraged at times, like maybe I just wasn’t going to get one, or like maybe it was a waste of time,” she said. “But it’s not. It just takes time.”
She began working for a provider in Texarkana, and has been enjoying the practical, hands-on work within her local community ever since.
Boyce has an even-keeled, candid way about her — she bounced between the good, bad and ugly of the job in a way that seemed uniformly unbothered. She noted it can “be very overwhelming, being out in the heat,” with some workdays stretching into over time. Being one of very few women working out as a field tech, she also didn’t find it a particularly welcoming space to start — though she questioned whether that had more to do with where she lives than the actual industry.
Her attitude never likened those challenges to reasons to avoid the work altogether. “There’s not too many cons, honestly,” she maintained. “I really like it.”
For Boyce, the appeal isn't that it’s a particularly easy job. But that without much training, it can become a real pathway for stable, livable income — and a lot of different directions to take the work.
“There’s just so much opportunity for growth, no matter where you really start,” said Boyce. “I think that that’s something that’s really cool and something to look forward to.”
Interested in exploring job opportunities within the industry? Check out Broadband Nation's jobs board, training portal and Learning Center.