Visit Optics 4 Kids (http://www.optics4kids.org) and Work in Optics (https://workinoptics.com) to learn more about the industry. Ask a teacher to set up an information interview with an experienced fiber optics technician. Talking with someone in the field is the best way to learn about any career. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of tools and equipment do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What are some key skills for success? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? Perhaps you could even job-shadow a fiber optics technician to learn even more about the field.

Participate in student competitions that are offered by SkillsUSA (https://www.skillsusa.org) and other organizations to build your skills, meet people with shared interests, compete for scholarships and cash prizes, and have fun. SkillsUSA offers a Telecommunications Cabling competition in which competitors "demonstrate skills in fiber and copper cable termination, pulling and mounting cabling, patch panel installation and termination, installing jacks, cable and fiber optic testing and troubleshooting, and providing customer service." Other technical competitions are available.

Fiber optics technicians prepare, install, and test fiber optics transmission systems. These systems are composed of fiber optic cables and allow for data communication between computers, phones, and fax machines. When working for a telecommunications company, fiber optics technicians are often required to install lines for local area networks—these data networks serve small areas of linked computers, such as in an office.

The telecommunications company for which a technician works will contract with a company to create a communications system. A sales worker will evaluate the customers needs, and then order the materials for the installation. Fiber optics technicians take these materials to the job site. Each job site may be very different—technicians may work in a variety of different locales. First, fiber optics technicians need to get a sense of the area. They walk through with the client, evaluating the areas where they will be installing fiber optic cable. Newer buildings will be readily equipped for installation; in some older buildings, it may be more difficult to get behind ceiling tiles and in the walls.

After they have readied the area for cable, fiber optics technicians run the cable from the computers mainframe to individual workstations. They then test the cable, using power meters and other devices, by running a laser through it. Fiber optics technicians use equipment that measures the amount of time it takes for the laser to go through, determining any signal loss or faults in the fiber link.

Technicians may also fuse fibers together. This involves cleaning the fiber and cutting it with a special diamond-headed cleaver. After they have prepared both ends, they place them into a fusion splicer. At the press of a button, the splicer fuses the two fibers together.