Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

@3pad. You’re right bfs management takes work from other groups and doesn’t do layoffs. You’d think other management groups would be smart enough to not give work away. Thant being said co tech is just like any other job, some folks are good at it, some ain’t. Some love it , some complain about it.

If you really do have an opportunity to move into the CO and have a valid job offer from HR and are TKT2 qualified, you would be incredibly dumm to not take the CO job. SSI&M (Correction, Business Field Services-Transport, it hasn’t been SSI&M for a while now bud) is just a shell of what it used to be. It’s a glorified Premises Tech position working mostly IP Broadband now. It might as well be called “Busy” Field Services, because the leadership team (field directors and VP) will take on ANY work (voluntarily or involuntarily) from other organizations whether it has anything to do with Business services or not (Think MLT…..). Whatever nobody else wants to do, BFS normally gets it. It’s like a garbage dump. Honestly, when was the last time you heard a CO tech anywhere say “I hate my job” or “It’s so stressful”. Do yourself a favor and take the job doofus.

like being a genius in special ed

"In my orbit we are micromanaged to death" What orbit is that?
The MSOC snowglobe metrics can micromanage you, if you try to make your numbers.
That is without any management pressure. That is Mr. Msoc standing over your shoulder and watching everything that you do. What you need is a list of ESMs for each job type that you do.
Some job types have unlimited time for them.

The days of the Central Office tech of being a Maytag repairman are over.

As an old salty dog used to say, “ Don’t live off your overtime.” You’ll do fine there’s OT to be made, weekends premium for off shift, maintenance windows premium, on-call standby pay plus premium if you have to go out. You’ll make much more than people are saying and you’ll stay clean and dry.

I’m a CO tech and I’m here to tell you don’t worry about the loss of OT. I easily make up that revenue with my side hustles online.

You are out of the weather. But stuck inside a dark battery filled room. Sometimes bored out of your mind.

No you are not. The dark, battery filled room is if you are working air pressure because your air dryers are in the basement with the batteries, or if you have to go to a tiny one floor CO where everything is on that floor. Regardless, if you have batteries in your workspace rest assured your workplace will be air conditioned to 77 degrees as this is Bell practice to extend the life of those batteries.

SSIM tech’s are different in each region, in D4 area we install/repair fiber and copper circuits. Then they added ABFS work about 5 yrs ago, install/repair routers, LTE modems and maintain 911 centers and the circuits. We also do video for stadiums and Arena’s. We travel far outside the traditional wire centers. If there’s a problem in the C. O. , fiber or copper and your trained, we go ahead and fix it in the C. O. If there is no C.O. Tech available. I’ve never made under a 100K in 20 years with OT. C.O. Techs rarely get any OT, would be a major pay cut for a SIMM tech in my area.

There are experts in the CO on old school radio circuits and mux trouble in addition to gpon 7342’s, and ethernet. It’s not wise to underestimate years of experience. I know because I worked CO, Dlc-Deg, Ssim, St and Ft. Either you got or you don’t. How bout a G6?

Did it for 8 years, then transferred to what now is a SSIM/ABFS for the last 22 years. Central Office has No O.T. and the job is really boring. But if your looking to get away from customers and the weather it might be for you.

You are out of the weather. But stuck inside a dark battery filled room. Sometimes bored out of your mind.

What's it like? Awesome bruh. Sitting around giving shorts, changing pairs and coils, and otherwise watching stuff on my phone and tossing back some cold ones, yo. Jump on in, the water's fine!!

As a systems tech , aka CPE tech , I’m considering the same move. My big fear is giving up the OT. Also, my skill set is quite different so I wonder if I could get up to speed fast enough. Us systems techs are mostly keyboard warriors , configuring /programming PBX/key systems and such. I can barely operate a bu-t set lol let alone all the other test equipment !

Get a wot ticket to wire it wrong. Get a CO assist ticket to wire it right.

CO. techs are so far removed from the customer that they are really not needed.

Ok. I know you have the wire color code down pat, and you have mastered tip and ring and maybe know your way around a sidekick, which is a rugged and simple analog volt/ohm meter, made easy to use by someone with minimal training. Not to diminish your great expertise, but everything that leaves the central office is because the the CO techs followed the network engineers designs. POTS is about 3 percent of that.

I have met several craft personal that were able to transfer into the role of CO tech. The only complaint I've ever heard is due to the loss of overtime, we don't get any. We are staffed 24/7 365 in the larger cities. Some of those folks had to sell off some of their toys to adjust. In addition if you have less than 25 years in, you might be low in seniority. As far as covering several offices, this is true. I don't cover 8 as the previous poster said but I do cover a few less and you know what, sitting in traffic pays the same as sitting on the phone with the optical build group turning up a new piece of equipment. All of which beats the heck out of sitting on the phone with an I&R tech who is whining because you where not everywhere at once and the conversation goes like like this "do you hear the tone, do you see that short", repeat Ad infinitum, or dealing with prem techs. I wish all of the copper frame work would be taken over by the outside techs, it is a time suck. So, if you have the TK2 test behind you or an exemption, go for it

OP. I know around 30 CO techs. I am one. No one feels micro managed. We have metrics but never hear about "numbers" until yearly evaluation. Still, I mostly make my numbers even though metrics are silly in this environment. You will figure it out.

OP. Do not listen to anyone trying to dissuade you or minimize the CO position. I am a CO tech. I have held every craft title in the company. I used to be in networking and am Cisco certified. This position is more technical than all other craft although I would consider DEG to be similar. The poster that said "outside techs can do their own CO work" I say let them. I prefer not to waste my time running a jumper on the frame. It is so little of what we do. Most of what I do is provisioning of 1G/10G Ethernet. Even a 100G ROADM every once in a while. Turn up and testing of Juniper routers and other equip. You will decom legacy equipment and assist in cuts from really old transport equipment to just old transport equipment. You will need to learn how to operate a variety of test equipment. You will need to learn to interpret word docs. You are also responsible for a plethora of "routines" each month. Mostly easy, like equip. filter changes, building inspections etc. AND you will need to get to speed with very little training. Anyone who minimizes this job is either jealous, ignorant OR both.

It used to be a good job. Now I have to cover eight offices, the commuting from office to office is time consuming and inefficient.

As a CO tech myself, I can tell you that running jumpers and replacing coils is only about 5% of my job now days. This is what the outside techs think we only do because it is all they know. I work orders on copper so infrequently I have to remember where I last set those tool down at.

I think it depends on your region and manager. I would ask co techs in your area your interested in. In my orbit we are micromanaged to death. Your gps says you were in the clown car driving for 30 minutes ok you can put down 40 minutes for signing out and signing back in. Have to use the can when you walk in the door and put down 42 minutes? Calls from managers and interrogations on why you are falsifying travel time. Only allowed 5 minutes on each end of the trip no matter how many supplies you are carrying etc. job says it should take you 4 minutes but you have to trace out a non inventoried jumper on the frame and it takes you 6 minutes? Better find somewhere else to bury that time because your numbers can be shot for the whole day. Phone calls threats, etc start coming if you drop below 100%. No matter what happens in the co, it’s your fault. Manager gave you wrong info? It’s your fault that you didn’t look it up or ask someone smarter. Phone calls and e-mails demanding to know why you messed it up. As I tell stories and explain the stress to my wife she wonders how we stay in business with all the stupidity in the central offices. I explain. Techs keep the network running inspite of the company’s best efforts.

The outside techs could be trained to do their own C. O. work in a short time. And would welcome doing that work in a nice temperature controlled environment.
Many companies already have them do that work.
Much of the C.O. work can be done remotely.
And I've never known a C.O. tech who was willing to move outside where it is cold and wet and actually "work". Many months to train.

100. O. techs are so far removed from the customer that they are really not needed.

Anyone can test generators and run jumpers. Replace coils.
Get when push comes to shove, who is 1st to be gone?

As long as you don't mind zero OT, it's probably the best craft job one can have. You pretty much manage yourself and your time so I'm not sure what "micromanagement" the other poster is referring to.

Lots of travel between local offices.
Every outside tech wants it done "right now".
I was an SSIM tech at the end of my career. No way I'd go in to the C. O.
You'll be even more micromanaged because now you are in a "captive" environment.
Where do you, and where would you fall on the seniority list?