ICT Today

60 I ICT TODAY TABLE 1: Snapshot of ICT positions and salaries. Jeremy Ehrgott, field services lead coordinator for Staff Electric similarly ended up in the industry without ever choosing it as a career path. "I'm actually a journeyman electrician by trade. Because I had the background and the proficiency in some of the other systems work, like fire alarm, access control, and paging, I kind of got sucked into it. And I've been doing it ever since. So I guess it was the right place, right time." There is a need for significantly more individuals to enter or advance in the ICT field. A rudimentary study on open ICT-related positions across the U.S. (Table 1) shows a staggering amount of opportunities for individu- als looking for positions but serious room for concern for companies needing to fill those positions. According to a recent salary and wage survey study, "engineers with the BICSI RCDD earn 5 percent more ($104,780) than those without ($99,543). For those in the 'other' category, the difference is 17 percent ($98,593 with the RCDD, $84,209 without). RCDDs in general management positions are compensated 23 percent more ($126,73 average) than those without the creden- tial ($103,067). And project managers with the RCDD are compensated 26 percent more ($106,985) than project managers without the RCDD ($85,242)." 1 There is no end in sight for the booming ICT job mar- ket. The same technological advancements that can cause waves of layoff fear in some industries actually create ICT jobs. Matt Hay, a safety and training manager at CC&N claims that the rapid advancements are making his job and his company even more secure. "We were told years ago that wireless was going to kill our industry. It was going to kill us as an organization. We'd hear, 'You guys, you're done. You're a wiring company.' Wireless has been the best thing that's ever happened to us because every- where you put an access point, there are two wires that go to it." As the field rapidly evolves and grows, many companies are getting creative in order to meet customer demand. According to Green, "To get projects completed, you have skilled labor doing overtime; the overtime wasn't factored in on the front end. That, obviously, can have a major impact on the bottom line." Ehrgott adds that flexibility is key to getting work done on time. "We only have so many people who are quali- fied and proficient in certain task areas, but somehow we always make it work. We end up having to play a lot of chess, if you will, in order to ultimately finish work and satisfy our customers' needs." DESPERATE TIMES SOMETIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES Many companies have tried with limited success to source workers from temp agencies. One company resorted to hiring day workers from a homeless shelter to help pull optical fiber cable. They offered no comment on the out- come, but sources say the company has not followed that hiring route again. Hay believes CC&N has an ace in the hole when it comes to attracting and retaining workers. He explains, "We're employee owned. That's a big one. Within a year This graph represents ICT-related job openings in the United States on July 1, 2019. Numbers are accurate but not all inclusive as there is not a universal telecom/ICT language to use for job postings and searches. (Information sourced from Indeed.com.) *Search was broadened to include skills required for position, with and without specific BICSI designation. 7-1-2019 ICT Installed (BICSI: Installer Level I, LEVEL II, Technician) 10,045 $80+ ICT Technician (BICSI Installer Level I, Level II, Technician) 11,615 $85+ Low Voltage Technician (BICSI Installer Level I) 9,608 $85+ ICT Estimator 715 $95+ BICSI Outside Plant Designer (OSP) ™ 94,956 $125+ Infrastructure Engineer 62,998 $130+ BICSI Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) ® 9,471 (1,830 RCDD Specific) $138+ BICSI Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC) ™ 13,640 $145+ BICSI Registered Telecom Project Manager 10,276 $150+ (3,122 Telecom RTPM specific)

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