BICSI Technician (TECH) Study Guide

Prepare for the BICSI Technician (TECH) written exam with a guide written for working technicians, in plain language with worked examples throughout — not a dump of memorized questions. Every chapter ends with a hands-on readiness section that translates the written material into how it shows up under the practical's 20-minute-per-task clock, plus a five-question check with an answer key.

One thing to know before you buy: TECH is two exams, not one. The hands-on practical comes first (12 tasks, 20 minutes each), and you take the 100-question, 2-hour written exam only after passing it. This guide prepares you for the written exam and teaches the technical knowledge behind the practical — it cannot replace the hands-on assessment. BICSI does not publish a passing score for the written exam, so this guide won't quote one.

Inside:

- Chapter 1 — Field Planning, Implementation, and Design: the installation pathway, the four eligibility routes, the two-part exam process and fees, documentation and drawings, safety and PPE, firestopping systems, bonding and grounding math, design and field planning.

- Chapter 2 — Establish Pathways and Spaces: telecommunications rooms, equipment rooms, and entrance facilities; cable tray and conduit sizing; support hardware spacing; firestopping penetration logic; pulling tension, bend radius, and separation from power.

- Chapter 3 — Pull and Terminate Cable: horizontal and backbone pulling, copper termination and IDC technique, the full 25-pair color code and T568A/B, fiber termination and connector types, media and cable selection.

- Chapter 4 — Splice, Test, and Certify: fusion and mechanical splicing, OTDR traces and events, insertion-loss budgets with worked examples, copper certification parameters, permanent link versus channel, documentation of results.

- Chapter 5 — Troubleshoot and Retrofit: a layered fault-isolation method, OTDR fault location, the classic traps (split pairs, macrobends, polarity), retrofit survey and phasing, cutover planning and rollback.

- Chapter 6 — Integration, Codes, and Professional Practice: PoE types and power budgets, converged applications, the standards and code landscape, professional conduct, credential renewal — and the complete exam-day playbook for both parts.

114 pages (PDF). Study at your own pace; nothing expires.

Independent study material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by BICSI.