Just learned the average cable installer walks about 8 miles a day

I was reading an old trade magazine at the dentist's office yesterday, one of those 'Industry Insights' things. There was a small box with a fact that said the average cable tech walks roughly 8 miles during a normal 10 hour shift. I had to stop and think about that for a minute. I know we're on our feet all day, climbing poles, going in and out of the truck, and hiking through backyards, but that number really hit me. I checked my phone's step counter from a busy day last week in Springfield, and it was over 18,000 steps, which tracks pretty close. Makes you realize why your boots wear out so fast. Does anyone else ever track their steps on the job, or am I the only one who finds that kind of thing weirdly interesting?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_holly16d ago

That reminds me of a time I delivered a package to a cable tech's truck. He was on the phone, super frustrated, because his next job was at the end of a half-mile private road and his work van wouldn't make it up the muddy hill. He was about to carry all his gear on foot. Makes you wonder if those eight miles include getting stuck in places the truck can't even go.

annanguyen5d ago

Wow, that's a crazy number but it makes sense. I read a blog post once from a tech who said most of his distance came from those huge apartment complexes, just walking from the main box to different buildings all day. Sounds a lot like @the_holly's story about the impossible driveway.

dylan60416d ago

Honestly, that 8 mile number is wild when you actually picture it. You mentioned hiking through backyards, and that's the killer part for me. Like, is that distance mostly from those long driveways on rural routes, or just the constant back and forth from the truck to the house in a normal suburb? I'm trying to figure out where all those steps actually come from.