satellite technician

field technician

technician

cable technician

installer

Southern Star, Inc

Working for Southern Star Incorporated has it's benefits. However all the cons attached to this job more than outweigh every single benefit you can acquire. For starters, you have the opportunity to make around $2000 dollars per weekly paycheck after about a year of employment with the company, as long as you are meeting your metrics. The metrics consist of; Smart Home Sales, Customer Satisfaction surveys, R12 incidents, and units per hour. The Smart Home Sales goal is $18 per work-order completed. You have to get all 9's out of 9 on all of you customer satisfaction surveys. Acquire no more than 8 R12 incidents per monthly work cycle. Complete at least 8 units per hour. The metric goals are graded on a monthly basis. 

   Just looking at these metric goals they may appear very simple to reach. However when actually on the job they prove quite difficult.
Smart Home Sales is the biggest goal you have to meet. It is pressed the hardest by your Field Service Manager. In fact if you continually fail to meet the goal Southern Star will fire you very quickly. Your customer satisfaction surveys are the next biggest thing that Southern Star looks at. If you continually fail to meet the goal of all 9's out of 9 on all of you customer satisfactions surveys, Southern Star will terminate you. R12's are the next statistic in the metrics that Southern Star inspects. R12's are attached to you if the work order you completed has to have extra work done anytime after 12 days of you being there. For example, let's say you get a new install work order on your route and you complete it correctly, 4 days later a big storm comes through and knocks the satellite dish out of alignment, you get an R12 if they have to send you, or another tech back out there to fix it. As long as you are continually meeting the prior metric goals your units per hour can suffer a little below 8. Each work order you receive from dispatch is worth a different amount units. Southern Star calculates your units per hour by taking the amount of jobs you had that day and adding up all the units you acquired from each job. Afterwards they then look at how long it took you to complete each job then they divide the units acquired by the time it took to complete the work orders.

   Another con of this job is travel time, which you do not get paid for unless your first work order is over an hour away from your home. Then you travel pay only starts after the first hour. Meaning if you have to travel and hour and thirty minutes away you only get paid for 30 minutes of travel. Not to mention if you clock into travel time if kills you units per hour making it harder to meet the metric goal. You will spend anywhere from 8-12 hours sometimes more completing your route for the day. Depending of if the equipment you are installing wants to function how it is supposed to. The first day I was with my trainer we were out until 10P.M because the equipment we were installing didn't want to function correctly. 

   So far I have just discussed all the cons I could think of off the top of my head. Despite all the cons working for Southern Star it does have some Pros. You get a company issued van and a gas card you get to keep at your house to travel to your work orders, a company issued phone which keeps track of your work orders, and a full set of tools you will need to complete your jobs. After you get through your initial 4 weeks of ride along training with your assigned trainer, and your 8 weeks of limited routes Southern Star does offer 401K, and Health, dental, and vision insurance. As well as paid time off. Not to mention the company does work well with members of the Armed Forces, I never had any problems getting off for drill or annual training.

First off, they tell you just enough to have you interested in the job and benefits. You'll discover that ANY conversation you have with your boss about anything personal becomes EVERYONES business. They'll threaten your job anytime they have a problem with you.
 The "master techs" get away with murder, they can pretty much talk to you however they want to without fear of losing their jobs. As far as I can tell the CEO cares about profit and profit only. 
 My boss met me at a gas station and had me park my van and clock into lunch so we could go hang a tv on a wall, it took over an hour and a half to do so and mind you I was clocked into lunch the whole time and didn't get paid for it. When I reported it to HR they said theyd look into it but when I tried following up on it the lady acted surprised to hear about it, then told me they looked into it and said I was lying and that if it was true I was the one who would be in trouble for doing it not my boss so I'd better not try and push it. 
 They send other techs to your house when you're off to get equipment and don't transfer the equipment to that tech so you end up paying for that equipment.  
 You never really have a day off because if a tech isn't calling you needing equipment, they're calling you asking you questions about jobs they need advice on (even though you may not be a master tech). 
 You are required to work in pouring rain and lighting and THEY DONT PROVIDE RAIN SUITS. You'll work in some of the most unhealthy, unsafe and nastiest conditions.
 They send you to extremely rural houses without any cell service even though the only way to activate the boxes is with the phone they provide, and tell you to figure it out. I've been asked to leave a house by the customer because they changed their mind about the service and my boss threatened my job if I didn't stay and convince the customer to let me complete the job. 
 I've been sent an hour and 45 minutes from home at 9pm on a last minute job that a master tech didn't want to do, and was required to do a full install with only a head lamp for light. I didn't get home until 12:15 and had to get up at 4:30am to get my inventory the next morning and didn't get off that night until 9:45pm. I even told my boss I was so tired I was falling asleep while driving and he laughed at me while adding more jobs to my route while he sat at home eating dinner with his family.
 They tell you the pay is well worth the job and that the goals arent that hard to hit but in reality you work your tail off to try an hit 5 different metrics and half of the metrics you have ZERO control over. I was employed for 9 months and always ended up not hitting at least one of those metrics which always makes you lose the bonus pay so you might as well of not hit any of them.
 The training is a joke and you learn almost nothing because your trainer is more worried about trying to hit his metrics rather than making sure you understand the process and get the proper training. My trainer warned me about all of this and I figured it was bs until I got on my own and seen it first hand.
 I literally could go on and on. My advice to anyone who has thoughts about working here, I wouldn't waste your time with these scum bags. I tried turning in a 2weeks notice because I finally got another job offer and they fired me on the spot, took my 40 hours of vacation time plus my last 950$ check and said they don't take 2week notices and that I owed them for lost equipment.

Be prepared to work long hours and have no family/ social life! You become a slave once you get hired. The training this company provides is a joke! You are given only 4-6 weeks of training with a current technician, and he could have only been there a year! Your trainers will not take the time to train you properly, always rushed by the FSM. Watch and learn, little hands on. So expect to only learn 30-40% of your job. Once you start your solo date, you are on your own. FSM will act like they care but don't. Only if you sale something. For example, was on a install job and having issues and called my FSM only to be told "Try the best you can, but make sure you sell them a sound bar!" FSM will constantly call you like clock work to tell you to sell something, no "Hey man, how is your day going" That is the only time they will call. Be prepared to have no equipment on your van or always running low. FSM don't care, they tell you to call another technician, which could be a hour away in the wrong direction, putting your UPH score down. Then being harassed by dispatch asking why you were not at your job at 8am. Lets not forget the customers. Some are ok, most or rude and act like you owe them something. Be prepared to move furniture/ asked to dust of furniture, move dirty clothes, boxes (Video movers are the best/ sarcasm) and deal with kids/ pets. Outside is the same story. Be prepared to setup new TVs(From box to setup), hook up VCR/DVD players and game consoles. When all you are there to do is installed dish network equipment. Repairs jobs are the best to/ sarcasm, customers blame you and the equipment for damaging their TVs LOL! when the tv is 20yrs old. Also, try selling something on a repair job is fun when the customer is already cussing at you. YOU ARE NOT A TECHNICIAN, BUT A SALESMAN, especially when your FSM begs you to sell somthing or he will lose his job. You feel like you have to put a gun to the customers head to sell something. Joking of course, but its that serious. And one final thing(that i can think of) is don't ever get hurt on the job, the FSM will ask your if you are OK to drive yourself to the hospital LOL!! Dish Network needs to end their contact with these people.

So, in short, if you like long hours, no life, FSMs that don't no how to do their job, rude customers and SALES! SALES! SALES! then this is the place for you.

Group interview was weird but upfront. They do not mince words about how many hours and what kind of metrics they want. I have worked in Tech positions before, and now I even work as a sales rep. During training you'll shadow and experienced tech (if you're lucky you'll be the only one learning with them) The job consists as an early tech usually of repairs, problem calls, and fresh installations. The two former being the most frequent. It's honestly kind of cool and I actually liked the challenges that came with figuring out problems. But given my low rating you know there is a big BUT coming. The hours are super long, especially if you're learning the ropes. That in itself is expected given the type of clients you deal with. (folks out in the sticks, mcmansions in the middle of nowhere etc...) I personally think that if the job was just being a tech, and focusing on providing that service it would be a much more serviceable position. They also however want you be a salesman which can prove challenging if your route doesn't consist of a lot of fresh installations. The commission rate off of the items you sell is laughable at best frankly speaking. Especially since I have worked more sales jobs since. My manager was pretty cool but was all about his bonus. If you don't hit your numbers, neither do they. I didn't find this part of the job manageable or worth my time. You get to the storage compound for your gear at the butt crack of dawn and you're lucky to be home before dark. I wouldn't suggest taking up this position if you aren't prepared to be heavily micromanaged and if you don't have a strong sales background. Even if you are a strong salesman, your talents are wasted doing this. There are good reasons sales and service depts tend to be separate entities.  If you don't have many options like I did at the time and you have worked for other cable companies you'll find this job  lackluster on most fronts. I think you're better served finding something else. I didn't like being encouraged to lie to my customers about functionality to upsell things, nor did I like my job being threatened at every opportunity to squeeze out production. I was there for six months until I decided to work for a company and people who treat me well :)

This is a good place to start in learning satellite installation. They have a very good paid training platform which ensures your knowledge when you get iin with a trainer in the field. You get equipment paid for, gas, uniforms, etc. This is a plus but is also why they start off low per hour $ 11-13hr. However, they dont mention a few things in the ad. One is how focused they are on sales. And if you are working overtime more than likely your time to job ratio is too high. The positive side is, if/when you meet your numbers for that month, the following month you get paid by the job instead of hourly. This is like getting paid like independent contractors do. 

They do have a very high turnover rate due to the amount of pressure in the required metrics. If you are not meeting certain areas you will have problems here. Everytime you clock in which starts when you get to the warehouse or to your first job, your time is measured vs how many points a job is worth. They want you to be at a certain point level time wise and constantly hound you while you are driving, working on ladders, in attics, under houses etc. Basically they train you not to cut corners but you have to in the field in order to meet numbers. Sales seems more important than a quality install and customer experience. 

 It takes a special type of person to obtain these numbers they require with the ups and downs. This is the part they cannot train you on. Its really not hard to do but after a while it becomes too much for the time you put in, and respect for your work. 

When you realize there is a bigger game going on and there is another independent contractor side to satellite with less pressure and more freedom, you see more options in this field. 

Personally, I would rather be an independent contractor with more freedom and less pressure. Paying for my own equipment, gas, and tools. You then become more than just some number.

But like I said, this is a good place to start.

This job is a nightmare. It’s not even about installing or fixing satellite tv anymore. All they care about is money, and selling sound systems and stuff. So if you can’t sell stuff, don’t take this job. All it is is an underpaid salesman. The Longview manager is way too selfish when it comes to this job. He HAS to be number one in the company (which he isn’t, and will never be because he doesn’t know how to manage his team tbh) he requires you to send pictures of all a sound system at every job EVEN IF the person at the house already has a sound system. And if you hit a hard place and can’t sell anything he will LOOK for a reason to get you in trouble. I had a buddy that I worked with there and he literally went back two months to a customer and asked if he tried to sell them something. When they said no, he wrote him up for it. Think about it. The guy did his job at that house, but forgot to offer them something to sell (or so they say. He told me that he offered everyone something at every house that he went to but who knows)  and he gets written up for it. Honestly, if you want a childish manager, oil field hours without oil field pay, and to always get cussed at by customers because of the last techs job take this job. Also, training sucks. They put you with someone for 5 weeks, but there’s a massive chance they will put you with lead trainer who will do all the work so fast that you can’t learn. And when you ask about stuff, he literally says “you don’t need to worry about it, just watch”. So seriously, don’t work here. It’s a set up for failure.

It started out ok, working with a Master Tech training me. He knows the ins and outs if Sattelite Installation. Coming from a cable background, it wasn't as easy to adjust as I would have wanted but eventually I did. That's the good part. The sales killed me. Once I averaged $14 a sale they raised it to $20. I was travelling a lot and South Texas is a huge area so is the Hill Country north of San Antonio. 

I have a wife and four kids. Working weekends sucked and many times having mandatory days to work when I should have been off with my family. At least Sunday off would have been a huge plus, but no. I started losing a lot of sleep. Being written up for going to get supplies that I simply ran low on. Besides a write up or two the management at the time we're awesome and patient. So much so that two really good ones, including the one who hired me quite. They last one remaining taught me a lot more also and went out of his way to help. My numbers went up overall under him. But again, the company found a way to screw that up. I had to leave. The company is toxic. I'm glad to be in a great job with my immediate boss being my regional manager. He runs things from Denver Colorado here better than the regional manager for Southern Star ever could. 

Warning to the wise, choose Spectrum or even U-Verse. Stay away from anything Satellite related. They seem to truly not care about your stress levels and personal life.

Owner has good intentions for employees but from his Dictator Of Operations sorry! (director)  to some of his collegue popets FSMs are the problem for this company, its a shame that the owner doesnt recognize that. No respect for the technicians,fsms run people out of this company, they behave like Dictators and not leaders they have no class or professionalism, some of them got their jobs because of who they knew and not from knowledge,they mistreat employees and then report to upper management what they want to cover their bad actions towards people.Regional Management is non existant. HR is not supportive when reporting confrontations with management they always side with them. if you are a senior tech they will make your life miserable to get rid of you. Hard part of this job is dealing with the Horrible and incompetent FSMs, and sorry to say this but there is nothing enjoyable about this company. you start your day thinking it may be your last one.Too bad i have to rate 1 star on management to be able to post this but they dont even deserve that. im pretty sure that previous positive reviews are done intentionally by company reps to boost their  image.I wouldn't recommend even my worst enemy to work for this company. That's how bad it is

Not an ideal job for everyone. The business has changed so much since I started back in 2013. It is mostly sales oriented now. If you can't sell add on products or services for them, then you're expendable. Not matter how good of a job you do quality wise. It's sad but true. 

You will not always get lunches, the hours are sometimes very long. You will be getting home very late sometimes. It happens alot. You will be working on fully extended ladders, crawling in attics, crawling under houses, digging trenches, dropping cables in walls, digging holes for pole mounts,etc. But most of all, you will be dealing with some of the most unappreciative and rude customers you will ever come across. That's just some of the negative and believe me there is alot more. 

On the positive you do get a company vehicle, gas card, basic hand tools and uniforms. The pay is ok. Definitely not great for what the job entails. The pay back then was alot better. 

But like I said, Dish network is sales oriented now. That's what they want results on. From hdmi cables and soundbars to mounting tvs, etc. 

Work here at your own risk. The company knows all this is true no matter what they reply on here. That's why they go through employees and fsms (managers) on a regular basis. Sorry but this is all true ssi.

Working here was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. The owners and upper management are some of the best people you’ll ever meet—genuine, supportive, and deeply committed to their employees’ success.

Yes, the work is demanding, but it’s also well-compensated and full of opportunity. You're not boxed into an hourly wage, and if you're motivated, there’s real potential to grow.

Challenges will happen—as with any company—but leadership is honest about expectations from the start. They provide extensive training and constant support, and if you're struggling, it's not for lack of resources. Everyone from training coordinators to managers has done the job themselves and will never ask you to do something they haven't.

This is a company that offers a stable, fulfilling career path—even for those with little or no prior experience. I’m sincerely grateful for the people I met and the many opportunities I was given. If you’re looking for a place where hard work is rewarded and where you can be proud of what you do, this is it.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Satellite technician 174 salaries reported	$20.89 per hour
Field technician 1477 salaries reported	$21.59 per hour
Technician 23 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Cable technician 317 salaries reported	$20.26 per hour
Installer 245 salaries reported	$16.99 per hour

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