The 'Cable Guy' Now a Network Specialist 235
Posted
by
timothy
from the 55k-isn't-too-slouchy dept.
from the 55k-isn't-too-slouchy dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Amy Chozick reports that cable guys, long depicted as slovenly cranks who dodged growling dogs and tracked mud on the living room carpet, often have backgrounds in engineering and computer science and certifications in network engineering. 'Back in my day, you called the phone company, we hooked it up, gave you a phone book and left,' says Paul Holloway, a 30-year employee of Verizon, which offers phone, Internet, television and home monitoring services through its FiOS fiber optic network. 'These days people are connecting iPhones, Xboxes and 17 other devices in the home.' The surge in high-tech offerings comes at a critical time for cable companies in an increasingly saturated Internet-based market where growth must come from all the extras like high-speed Internet service, home security, digital recording devices and other high-tech upgrades. 'They should really change the name to Time Warner Internet,' says Quirino Madia, a supervisor for Time Warner Cable. 'Nine out of 10 times, that's all people care about.' Despite their enhanced stature and additional responsibilities, technicians haven't benefited much financially. The median hourly income in 2010 for telecommunications equipment installers and repairers was $55,600 annually, up only 0.4 percent from 2008."
Not comcast (Score:5, Funny)
Last time I had a comcast tech out to fix my cable modem, I had to show them how to use ping.
Re:Not comcast (Score:5, Funny)
Good work on your part.
He showed up at my place shortly after, and I showed him how to use LOIC as a tool to check the comcast servers.
Next time, I'll show him how to speed up his PC and search for Nigerian princes.
cheers,
Re:Hourly income was $55,600 annually! (Score:4, Funny)
I want an hourly income of $55,600 too. I don't understand why they only work one hour a year, in their place I'd work a whole day!
Re:Not comcast (Score:3, Funny)
Next time, I'll show him how to speed up his PC and search for Nigerian princes.
Cut the guy a break - and show him how to search for Nigerian princesses. It sounds like he'll be a "stay-at-home" spouse soon.
Re:And the last 3 times I had one at the house... (Score:5, Funny)
way above and beyond what I've needed to make sure things are done and that I won't have further problems.
So, what, they installed a weather control machine?
yes, those people are so filthy! (Score:5, Funny)
one time , i even had one ask me 'how my day was going'.
can you imagine the nerve of these servants?
to talk to me, a LINUX user, like that? and they dont even know how to disassemble their makefiles? balderdash!
Re:Not comcast (Score:5, Funny)
Relevant xkcd [xkcd.com]
Re:Not comcast (Score:4, Funny)
When I worked at a ISP call center, I suggested a seperate "pro" queue, where you'd have to answer for example some simple hex -> dec and subnetting questions.
(Examples : What is the dec equivalent of 0x(FF|0A|10)? how many ip adresses are there in a /24 subnet?)
For some reason the management didn't quite like the idea..