Cable Splicer

Thanks to televisions, cameras, computers, stereos, and cell phones, all of which are powered by electricity, and all of which connect in one way or another to the World Wide Web, the modern world is a wired world. Because they’re so ubiquitous, however, it’s easy to forget: The wires didn’t grow there, like grass or trees. They were installed — in most cases by a Cable Splicer.

Cable Splicers are paid by utility companies to install, splice, test, and repair the high-voltage cables and wires that deliver electrical, phone, Internet, and cable TV service to homes and businesses. If you’re a Cable Splicer, you spend your days atop utility poles, below ground in sewers, and inside walls, where you operate on the 21st century’s nervous system by performing a variety of duties, such as: installing, maintaining, and repairing overhead and underground power lines and cables, as well as associated equipment; erecting steel, wood, and concrete poles; splicing, soldering, and insulating wiring; and cleaning up after inclement weather by restoring broken connections or neutralizing live wires that have been knocked down by storms or wind.

Of course, electrical wires can be extremely dangerous. It must be said, therefore, that safety — yours and that of the public — is an especially important part of your job, which demands focus, caution, and discipline.

Luckily, the risks aren’t without rewards. Like the men who laid track for the transcontinental railroad in the 19th century, you’re doing a whole lot more than manual labor; you’re outfitting the nation with the infrastructure it needs to power its future!