Anyone here experienced in cat 5/6 and fiber installation?

[Arkitech]

I'm interested in moving into this area of IT. I don't know much about running cable other than crimping cat 5/6 connectors. Is it a difficult thing to get into? I'm assuming fiber is much more complex than copper, but I'm wondering if I can get up to speed on cat 5 installation if watched a few videos.

Any suggestions on how to get into this kind of work?

 

[Lifted]

I think some people here install structured cabling and/or fiber for a living. They might chime in. Whether they do or not I'd suggest calling some local structured cabling installers in your area, or even popping into their office, and letting them know your interested in becoming a technician and are curious on how to go about getting started. They should be able to recommend books, programs, certs, or classes at a local community college that should put you on the right track. I see enough job postings for these positions, not sure what they pay though. You might want to inquire about that as well.

I think a lot of them probably start off as electricians (or apprentices) and move into doing strictly low voltage work. I'm pretty sure it's mostly for data and cctv, but there's tons of other systems that require low voltage wiring that electricians may not be interested in installing.

We've used this company for some recent projects. They certify everything they install.

 

[kevnich2]

IT isn't really where I'd classify cable installation such as fiber or cat5e/6 installation. Cable installation is more in the area of low voltage electrician though you can find more telco oriented companies that strictly do network wiring installations. Structured wiring installation is, IMO, more of an art and does require some training to do it right. I know myself, I can do the job but my end job does not look NEAR as good as the contractor my company uses for all of our telco wiring installation. And they do in about 1/3 the time.

Fiber installation is also a different animal than copper based. Equipment and tools for it can reach tens of thousands, but the techs that do that make a good living with it.

I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to do this on your own but rather finding an electrical/telco specialty wiring company and see if they have any openings.

 

[imagoon]

I'm interested in moving into this area of IT. I don't know much about running cable other than crimping cat 5/6 connectors. Is it a difficult thing to get into? I'm assuming fiber is much more complex than copper, but I'm wondering if I can get up to speed on cat 5 installation if watched a few videos.

Any suggestions on how to get into this kind of work?

Go become a C card apprentice. You will learn structured cabling along with other things like phone, coax, twinax etc. Fiber is a specialty and not really that hard with the proper tools.

 

[notposting]

As mentioned above, the cabling installation field is not really part of IT. It works for IT, and many IT personnel know the basics and can probably get a cable or two from point A to point B and successfully terminate it, but that is a different beast than doing the complete install with proper certification, documentation, and following all codes and standards.

<-- Installer/Tech, completed the low-volt apprentice program in IBEW Local 58.

edit: assuming you are on the networking side of IT, the difference is comparable to me knowing how to setup my home network, and having some basic knowledge, versus someone who administers domains, routing, servers, etc etc all day long. It's a full time profession, not something you dabble in or pick up the ins and outs of watching a few videos. Hope this helps.