DEG/specials ? and how do you apply ?
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@6ciq, good & accurate info. A few years ago(prior to the latest SE labor agreement), word of a marriage between specials techs & system techs(abfs “cpe guy”) was all the buzz. Lots of these groups went under the same first line manager, the specials techs started doing the “1 button” router jobs, various helper tickets were being slung around between the 2 different groups, & some cross training was done(there was chatter of sys techs getting pole climbing & bucket truck trained).
It sounded like a pretty good marriage, especially if you were ssim and spent most of your days watching the light fixtures on the ceiling in the office and playing flappy birds on your phone until the battery died before lunch. I’m all for everyone staying in their own lane but if management wasn’t gonna layoff 75% of ssim, moving into the system tech world seemed like a good move since it kinda streamlined things for the customer and the work for the techs was as similar as possible. And then next thing you know, they give ssim the mlt testability tickets(so the slc crew has even less to do) and then the wire tech world was dumped on ssim with all of the gpon & copper bvoip 3-6, and just like that the prestige of being in ssim seems to have fizzled.
Not sure why DEG isn’t raising cane about ssim getting their mlt jobs(save the reply, I know it’s low priority work, but you’d think you’d want to keep what is yours, especially in light of the work decline in DEG).
I’m also not sure why wire techs aren’t raising he-l about the uverse work that went to ssim. News flash to wire techs: a lot of your work is being done by folks making a whole lot more $$ than you. On that same note, since ssimitnwt(ssim is the new wire tech, to play off a tv show), if wire techs were getting a $4,500 signing bonus, shouldn’t the ssim techs get one since they got drafted into the job?
The second they moved non-designed Fiber Broadband Service (FBS, ABFoEMT) into Special Services from consumer back in 2014, it effectively ended that job function/group. Shortly after in 2017-2018 they moved BVoIP 3-6 (Phone for Business) and ABFoGPON (including enterprise GPON which is basically 80% residential reseller service) as well and the rest is history. A very educated guess would be that 60-70% of all work performed by SSI&M technicians today is non-designed IP broadband. 15-25% is switched Ethernet (ASE) and the last 10-15% is everything else (MLT, ADE, Optical, DS0, DS1, DS3, 911, site survey's, battery routines, etc.). 911 should not even really be included as it's a very specialized product requiring significant training and expertise and is normally handled by ABFS techs in all regions except the SE anyway.
Most of the really skilled Specials technicians (and managers) in BFS have moved off into other departments (CNO-DEG, CNO-CO, Access-C&E, etc.), technical management level jobs or vacated the business entirely in the last 3 years as they were smart enough to see the writing on the wall. And most of those individuals were backfilled from consumer (DTV techs, wire techs, prem techs, cable techs, installers) because nobody in Core Network Operations (DEG or CO), C&E or from a center position is dumm enough to voluntarily leave one of those departments and move into the unrealistically high pressure and high churn environment of Business Field Services where you really have no gateway for advancement (or pay increase) and get the cr-p kicked out of you 24/7/365. I say keep the ABFS work in AT&T Business and move everything else back to consumer where it was run into the ground for years previously. That way they can run it the way the want (just like consumer) and ABFS can go back to being the big time revenue engine it was prior to being merged with Specials years ago.
@5yyy, you’re spot on. Work your way up, get qualified, move halfway across the state to get into Specials, learn the job(911 cpe, ds0, t1, t3, ase, etc) and congrats, you’re now a wire tech! It’s a great business model, instead of $500 or $1000/month switched Ethernet, let’s go w/ $100 /month no contract non secure residential grade internet service. #growthebusiness.
Does education matter in specials? YES!!! 2 books are mandatory reading: How to Be a Wire Tech & How to sit in the office.
2d ago by Anonymous
3 reactions (+3/-0)
Post ID: @3zlq+1faoCzsV
This is mostly correct if you are a Specials/ABFS tech in region. Too bad really…..They are just distant shells of the jobs they used to be. Leave it to BFS leadership to shuffle non-designed broadband work from consumer, where the lowest paid techs (PT and WT) were performing the work, to BFS where it is bow performed by the highest wage scale and group 1 techs across the enterprise in every contract and not bill those customers for ANYTHING ever. Makes you wonder how we make money on it at all.
Does education matter in specials? YES!!! 2 books are mandatory reading: How to Be a Wire Tech & How to sit in the office.
Does education matter applying to specials?
15h ago by Anonymous
no reactions
Post ID: @2iwb+1faoCzsV
You must be the one who posted this same question in the other thread. The answer is still NO. It’s a union job. All you have to do is pass the TKTll exam, be formal discipline free and have the seniority and your all good. Education, skill and experience are not factors at all unless you and another applicant happen to have the exact same seniority date and are the final candidates.
Does education matter applying to specials?
@1pzj: since they’re trying to make ssim wire techs, will they qualify for the $4500 signing bonus?
Go with specials. If there’s not an opening near you hold on. They always need more people. The goal is to keep the office as crowded as possible all day.
Fiber puller, voip maker, router jockey and gpon in the hood. All good
Arizona is hiring NTS personnel, Network Technia Specialist position.
Wow thanks for the response
The previous posting was DEG specific. For Business Field Services, see below:
Southeast Region = Digital Technician (CWA)
Southeast Region = Systems Technician (CWA)
Midwest Region = Technician (IBEW)
Midwest Region = Customer Systems Technician (IBEW)
Midwest Region = Customer Services Specialist (CWA)
Midwest Region = Journeyman- (IBEW)
Southwest Region = Systems Technician (CWA)
West Region = Systems Technician I&R (CWA)
LNS-IR/OOR = Network Technical Specialist (CWA)
LNS-IR/OOR = Customer Engineer lll (CWA)
LNS-IR/OOR = Customer Engineer Band 1 (IBEW)
LNS-IR/OOR = Communications Tech Toll (IBEW)
Southeast Region = Digital Technician (CWA)
Midwest Region = Customer Services Specialist (CWA)
Midwest Region = Cable Splicing Technician (IBEW)
Southwest Region = Systems Technician (CWA)
West Region = Splicing Technician (CWA)
LNS IR/OOR = Network Technical Specialist (CWA)