fiber technician

installer

installation technician

cable technician

laborer

Gridsource Incorporated inc

WiseConnect is a contracting company specializing in telecommunications.  My time with them, one year, was spent in three different jobs.  Two of them involved residential phone/internet/TV work: running the fiber optic cable from the utility grid to the customer home and then installing equipment in the home.  That position was GREAT in terms of on-the-job training, work-life balance, pay, and local management.  But I have heard some stories from people from regions outside of Seattle who were not quite as impressed with their local offices.  My other job with them, which I did for eight months, involved installing and upgrading internet infrastructure equipment in the field.  This position required 70+ hour work-weeks frequently, plus daily travel of over 200 miles, with travel overnight sometimes for two weeks at a time to areas that were 5 to 8 hours drive time from home, often with only two hours of notice.  Again, the pay was great and the training was great, but the work-life balance was all work and no life.  And the managers catered to the clients 100% even if it meant putting worker safety at risk (work a 12-hour shift, drive eight hours, work another 14 hour shift, then drive another four hours, work another 12 hour shift with NO DOWNTIME and NO SLEEP).  So there is room for improvement there.  Also I was laid off twice, from two separate projects, within three weeks.  So I would say it is a good company to work for, but like any company they do have a few issues they could stand to work on.  Your experience will vary greatly depending which position you are working in.

and less you get paid.  Telecom is all production pay.  It started out great.  Then you get really good, and it’s like they think you make too much.  So they lower your pay rate.  Well yea I made more because I got better at what I do.  So it’s messed up to lower it to make us work twice as hard to make any money.  And they just hire anybody and everybody.  Technicians would just somehow avoid doing the harder jobs the first time around.  And it would come back another day on another tech.  Well second time around customers won’t be happy and it sucks you might be the one that’ll have to deal with it and make less.  It’s ok for some technicians to pick and choose, and others to get poo on?  Why can’t they hire skilled technicians and just pay them well?  Everybody would happy?  Customers, technicians, and management and everyone involved.  Easier to manage all around.  Sometimes I wondered if management just had to deal with so many poo workers, that they’re stressed out and took it out on everyone else.  Oh wait, that’s exactly what happens.  If a skilled worker does all the jobs and does his paper work right.  Management would probably have time to do other things.  Like relax.  And then have a meeting on how great everybody is doing instead of constantly bringing up the mess ups of the 80 percent poo workers.  I feel bad for entry level workers in the field now.  They come in thinking this is better money than what they did before.  Just to waste time getting better to get pooped on.  Go spend your time doing something that’ll make you more money over the years, not less.  Never understood why all skill levels get paid the same.  There should be like a tech 1 tech 2 tech 3 level system so technicians could get paid better for their skills.  Maybe poo workers will strive to be better?

WiseConnect is a telecom services company, focusing primarily on fiber optic phone/TV/internet services.  Sometimes they also get special projects like OSP infrastructure upgrades.  Depending on your role, your experience here will be either "just okay" or "crazy stressful."  On the OSP jobs I got stuck with a horrible management team, frequently asked at the last minute to drive 11 hours out of state on no sleep after working a 14 hour shift and immediately begin another 12 hour shift.  Plus having WiseConnect's three layers of managers plus three additional managers from the clients breathing down our necks made it feel like a hostile workplace.  High stress, long hours, lots of driving, no sleep.  However, on the job training on how to do something new was provided and was fairly comprehensive.  And then if you are put on the residential install or line drop crew, the work/life balance is better because your hours will be more regular and there will be less travel outside your home city.  In my experience, the manager in the Tukwila WA office was very good but the upper corporate managers were not my favorite group of people.

As a drop Technician, other than the possibility of inclement weather, your job is a cakewalk. I learned everything I needed to know to be able to confidently work on my own in three days by shadowing in the field. I am a quick learner, but this position is very simple.  As a I&R Technician on the other hand, you will be fighting tooth and nail to get the training you need. The first few months are absolutely miserable because you are forced to learn on the fly while struggling to keep up with your workload.  All the training I received was from shadowing other Techs, who could not answer half my questions because they were not trained properly either. Management  and many of its field Techs at CenturyLink in Seattle are also toxic and treat you like the scum of the earth. 

As a drop Tech, the job is 100% worth the pay. But for all the headaches and misery of being a I&R Tech, with 10X the responsibility, you get a whole $1 raise. But Wise Connect gets much more. 

End result: Wise Connect Inc. and CenturyLink are both deeply flawed companies that you would be wise (no pun intended) to avoid. At least in Seattle, I cannot speak for other markets.

If you’ve ever been a fiber tech, prepare to potentially do seven installations, far away from your home, leaving you with no at-home life and no choice as to where you’re working the next day. The pay isn’t terrible, but the constant stress from management to complete your work regardless of the circumstances makes it the opposite of a relaxed work environment. I quit after serving my two weeks, and you’re required to use your own vehicle to commute to work and receive payment. Just before I quit, my car was experiencing issues. Due to a mechanical engine problem, I missed a couple or maybe even a few days of work, resulting in the loss of over $1500 worth of vacation, sick, and leave pay. When I called HR, they provided me with a brief explanation of why I couldn’t get the money back, stating that my absence for a day or two due to engine issues during my two-week notice amounted to forfeiture of that pay. Therefore, ensure your car is reliable to avoid financial losses, as they don’t seem to care about your well-being. They see you as just a number.

Really liked it for the first while and then it just turned management would make you spend hours on jobs you couldn't do anything on knowing you get paid per job actually had an incident where company we were contracted to their employees verbally attacked and belittled me in saved emails and messages were ignored by wiseconeect even though I never wanted any reprimand I just wanted moved to a new area which was also ignored very bad management would not recommend to anybody truly trying to provide for a family lots of stress poor management and long hours makes for a miserable time

Management is a complete joke for this “company”. Cut your pay for zero logical reason. Bring in brand new people with no experience to replace techs with 2+ years of experience. Have crazy expectations. Pay is about the only good thing if they haven’t cut it. Will demote you while you’re on approved vacation time and still haven’t paid my accrued pto. If they stopped hiring mouth breathers for managers and actually cared for all of their employees, then it wouldn’t be to bad of a company. You shouldn’t have to go back to every single conversation you have with management to screenshot their texts for when they do turn on their word and make you out to be the bad guy. Massive favoritism and just unrealistic expectations. 

All work for Wise Connect is contract work, you work for a bigger entity such as a big telecom provider ( Frontier, Century Link, Cox) so you are required to have your own equipment. This is a huge cost of living increase and with no benefits, many techs simply cant afford this cost of living for very long and leave. There are special projects within the company such as cell groups and MDU construction. However your chances of moving up as a technician are limited due to management, 

But the pay is the pretty decent for entry level jobs, even with cost of tool and vehicle ownership. But its not for everyone, please dont apply if your afraid of heights,

It's a great place to work at times, however your position can be terminated at any time which at best results in you being moved to a different position and at worst termination.  This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you will be doing. In some roles the pay is good and the job is satisfactory. In others you are not paid nearly enough for the amount of work that you are doing. Its a roll of the dice and the future prospects don't look great. Because you are sub contracting for CenturyLink (Lumen), you never know what the next day holds in terms of job security. 

I would not recommend for skilled technicians to work here. They do not appreciate skilled technicians. They only use you to train people that they hire off the street. Once you trained enough unskilled employees they'll fire you. The only good use they have with skilled workers is you pick up all the chronic jobs that nobody wants. It takes 2 to 3 times more time to fix the jobs it sucks on piece work. Wiseconnect pretends you are slow and that you are slacking off, you got a 1st level manager yelling at you and threatening to fire you.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Fiber technician 16 salaries reported	$1,513 per week
Installer 10 salaries reported	$1,795 per week
Installation technician 1 salary reported	$24.00 per hour
Cable technician 2 salaries reported	$50.00 per hour
Laborer 13 salaries reported	$20.54 per hour

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