Nationwide efforts to expand access to internet infrastructure are likely to soon surge, placing a higher demand for skilled workers who can build and maintain these increasingly critical networks. That confluence of funding and urgency could open the door for many newcomers — and, for those who invest in training, clear the path to the front of the talent pool.
The state of Florida alone has over 20,000 jobs needed to complete its projects over the next five years. Miami Dade College (MDC) is answering that call with its Aerial Lineman Program — a hands-on training course designed to prepare students to work on overhead infrastructure powering the energy and communications grid.
Over the course of the program, students learn to install and work on aerial cable safely and correctly — troubleshooting in real time — while also working in a classroom setting to develop knowledge and skills critical for trade roles like fiber-optic technician work.
Graduates of the course earn a Telecommunications & Fiber Optics Technician Certificate — MDC's Construction Trades Institute credential that makes them job-ready and prepares them for larger industry certifications like Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT).
The field and classroom combination can quickly turn into a job ticket in an industry that’s hungry for skilled workers with field experience, according to some of the program’s leaders, who have been in the trade for years (see video below).
“If you don’t want that four years of debt, this is a great industry,” one of the program’s instructors, Brian Rhoades, explained to us while filming the program in Miami. “We’ll teach you everything you need to learn as long as you’re open-minded and willing to learn.”
While lesser known than traditional trades, the line of work can be exceptionally lucrative, with average positions paying between $60k and $100k — and many technicians earning six-figure-plus incomes.
And for some of the attending crew, the work has been a refreshing change from previous means-to-an-end jobs, where livable wages rarely matched a line of work that felt worthwhile. “My other jobs I would wake up miserable, you know, not wanting to go. Here, the opportunity of meeting new people, it's something different every day," said one of the attending foremen, Carlos Cibrian. "I'm in love with this career."
Learn more from the crew that recently attended the program:
Interested in exploring job opportunities within the industry? Check out our jobs board, training portal and Learning Center.