sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information how to get a start

I understand the most of phone work to a degree. have the basic tools butt in test set needs a new keypad. want to this as a side job how did anyone get a start in the business . what books do u recommend to get help.how necessary is it to get a sidekick meter. what other tools would you recommend to have ?

Thanks Jerry.

To be honest I think very few of us actually started out wanting to be "phone men/women". For me it started with fiber terminating in a different trade all together.

Buttset, tone and probe, punch tool, plenty of cable and cross connect wire, wire map tester. As for the side kick I would not spend the money just yet. Get a good multi meter and go to sandman and pick up a few videos and books from him. That man and EV are probably the most knowledgable people I know. Get a few vendor certs and some system training from a vendor you prefer. Find out weather you need an LV license. Get insurance. Look into getting your ccna, rcdd, a+, network+

Use this forum to your advantage, Welcome and good luck. by the way my list is in no way complete. We are all still learning everyday.

I am a college student myself but I got into this industry several years ago. My interests migrated from phones, to computers, to networks. I still have a great interest in phone systems.
See if you might be able to work part time for an interconnect to get the hands on training.
Ditto to what Waine said. I learn something here every day!

Jerry:

I might be the exception to WRichey's statement about people not seeking a career in the phone business. I always wanted to be in this industry, all the way back to my childhood. I was fascinated whenever I saw a Southern Bell truck. I'd make my parents pull over if I thought I saw a piece of telephone cable on the side of the road.

Seriously, I started out as an electrician at the age of 14 working after school. I was actually a helper for an electrician at first, but after a year, I had a 47 year old helper. It wasn't necessarily about knowledge, but it had a lot to do with responsibility.

At 21, I tried to get a job with C&P Telephone Company, later Bell Atlantic and now Verizon. After having maxed out the employment test three times, I demanded to know why they still wouldn't hire me. Behind closed doors, the testing administrator told me the truth. I simply didn't meet their sex and racial hiring quotas for that time. Not that it really matters, but they weren't seeking white males during the three years that I sought employment with them. Hey, at least the guy was honest with me so that I could stop wasting my time and move on.

At the age of 24, I started my own telephone interconnect company. This came after years of following the Bell guys around and watching every move that they made. It didn't happen overnight; I did this since I was seven years old.

The key is to pay attention to superiors in the field. Learning from books may teach you the standards, but until you learn through the school of hard knocks, you will never really understand this trade. Bite the bullet, it will be worth it in the long run. You'll have plenty of support here with any questions or concerns you may encounter in the field.

It's safe for me to assume that most members here have quite a bit of respect for people who are seeking to enter this business. It's tough, but it's not difficult if you put your head into it.

On a side note, you did come here seeking our advice and direction and you will get it. I must be honest with you though; we are going to have to work on your spelling, grammar and punctuation. In order for anyone to take you seriously in this or any technical industry, these items are going to be mandatory.

Stick around. There's plenty of support here for sure. Welcome aboard.

Ed, I'm glad to hear that I easn't the only one following Bell guys around to learn from them. Now we follow the Verizon guys and gals around and tell them what they are doing wrong.

-Hal

I started out at 16, selling telephones in my old mans shop,and doing extensions in houses. I then got a job with a company in dublin installing old kanda telephone systems and my boss would send me out to a job with a system and a manaul, went to Eircom box's to learn the colour code when I came across a cable bigger than 4 pair.
It was tough and had no one to help me.( blow in to the big smoke)
25 years on I am still learning about telephones as they are always changing. But that is what I love about this business, never dull.

I took a job with Pacific Telephone temporarily while waiting to hear about my application at the Gas company. That was 41 years ago and I'm still waiting to hear from the Gas company.
Advice:
Get a job in the industry, any job, anything that gets you around phone guys (and gals). Watch what they do and always learn everything you can. Start at the bottom and work your way up and in a few years us old farts can turn the industry over to you and maybe finally retire.
Advice:
If you show your smarts and are not afraid of hard work most everyone will help you in your quest. I know I will.

Learn the industry color code. The rest is pretty much common sense; voip not included.

I got my start in telecomm about 20 years ago. I was a helper in our electric shop. We hired a retired AT&T technician to do installs and moves about 3 days a week. He retired after 34 years of service. It got to the point that 3 days a week went to 4 and to 5 days a week and he told our director to hire someone to help him or he was going to the house. He really just wanted a part time job to keep him busy.

He was getting the electric shop to run cables for him and he took an interest in me and showed me how to uncoil 25 pair cables and run the lines “the right way”. I did this for about 3 years before the position come up for his “helper”. He approached me about the job and wanted me to apply so I did. I got to work with him about 2 weeks and he found out he had terminal cancer. I had the place (around 2500 stations) mostly 1A key stuff , BI’s, LSI’s , ECTS sets and a lightening hit Demension 2000 laid in my lap. It’s sink or swim now…


He would come in about once every two weeks in between his chemotherapy treatments and try to show me something. He has to be the kindest person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I made a point to get all his friends to come and visit him while he was here. That didn’t leave much time for us to work on stuff but he enjoyed it. Most of the old AT&T guys came by to see him as much as time allowed so I got to meet all of them too.

Two months later he passed away. AT&T had to start coming in here and doing moves and adds in the switch because I didn’t have a clue. Most of the old guys liked me I think because he did and took time while they were here to teach me the color code. One left me with a 4x4 piece of plywood and a 100 pair cable and 66 blocks on 89 B brackets. He said “here’s the color code, I check it next time I am here. . .” It wasn’t the prettiest one I have ever laid out but it was in the right order. Within 6 months they came in and pulled out the MAP (maintenance administration panel) out of that little desk in the back of the equipment room. They were not getting called out to fix the switch any more. I had watched and learned.

I am sorry this is so long but I have wanted to post this for a while now so you guys can see where I come from. Old school.

To the original poster get your foot in somewhere and learn. Like the rest of the guys here I still love this and learn something new every day.

Mike, that is really a great story. One memory I have, is that someone made me a birthday cake with Shamu on it when I was maybe 4 years old. We had to pick the cake up at a central office! I remember being shown a wire wrap tool