A lot of job listings never get a second glance. The title sounds too technical. The description is confusing. Or you just can’t picture yourself doing it, so you scroll past, assuming it’s not for you.
But sometimes that job application you avoid can become the job you didn’t know you’d love. This was Claire Mudd’s story when she unexpectedly found herself working as a broadband technician — installing internet service in Florida neighborhood homes.
From graphic design at a newspaper to online orders at Lowe’s, Mudd worked in a slew of jobs that never felt like more than a means to an end. “I didn't really like the office job. It was kind of slow for me,” she recalled to us over the phone.
She’d passed over the posting a few times — a broadband technician? Working in people’s homes? “I’m not crawling under a house,” she remembered thinking. “That’s gross.” But finally, after hearing about the role from a friend, she “decided just to give it a shot, try something new.”
Fast forward 10 months — she’s now a lead installation tech, working with residents across rural Florida, helping locals get online for the first time and settling into work she finally wants to stick around for.
"I like being on the move all day, switching up tasks and problem solving each job. Nothing’s ever the same,” remarked Mudd. And while the change up from the 9-to-5 office has been a welcome one, working face-to-face with locals quickly became her favorite aspect of the job.
Getting folks online means giving them access to school, healthcare and other essential resources reliant on broadband — especially when many of these communities still lack access to high-speed internet.
In Gilchrist Country, for example, just 4% of people have access; in Dixie County, only 2%, according to the Herald Tribune. Mudd works with many of these people in the state getting connected for the first time.
“It's great because, I know at my house — and it’s the same at a lot of houses here — you don't really have any cell service. So, it’s a great feeling knowing that it’s giving a lot of people peace of mind, just being able to make a phone call if they need it,” she reflected.
It's not a job she imagined herself doing — she didn’t really even know what it was. But giving it a shot has made the difference between clocking in and actually enjoying what she does.
“Don’t turn your nose up to it until you know what it is,” she advised folks finding themselves in the position she was in last summer. Those dreaded crawl spaces are actually "such a small part of the job, and there's so much to learn, so much you can understand about internet [service],” from how it impacts families to what it can provide to a technician servicing it.
Learning as you go, sticking around to grow
It’s not just the installs that clicked for Mudd — it was also the work environment. The support from leadership and mentors has made a big difference. “They want you to learn, they want you to move up. They want you to do well... they’re eager to teach,” she said. “I think having that environment is a good place to be.”
Her training was entirely on the job — a common finding in this area of the industry. With no experience in the field, she had around a month of shadowing, gradually taking on more of the install as weeks went on until she was handling it solo.
The first week on her own brought on an initial shock but she recalled it subsiding smoothly. “Trust your instincts,” she said — both reflecting on that time and advising newcomers. “Ask a lot of questions and take everything in.”
Mudd has done just that, and she’s become a lead technician in less than a year. She continues to pick up something new almost every day — and that’s part of the job’s appeal. Whether it’s understanding frequencies, how splicing works from the main line to the house or troubleshooting in the field, there’s always more to grasp. “There’s a whole lot to learn and a lot of directions to take your career," she explained.
Of course, not every day is easy. For Mudd, the toughest part of the job came in dealing with the impact of the 2024 hurricanes. “Last year, it was kind of rough, but we’ve got a good team, so it was bearable,” she said. “That’s probably the most difficult thing I've had to deal with so far.”
Still, it's the people around her — both coworkers and residents — that make hard days worthwhile. Customer interactions can have a real downside, particularly as one of the few women techs in the area, but Mudd doesn’t let it faze her. “You’re gonna have those experiences,” she said, recalling when a customer asked to reschedule with “a male installer... But a lot of people around here are pretty nice,” she contended, as it remains her favorite part of working in the field.
What started as a job Mudd nearly overlooked is now one she genuinely enjoys. With a solid foundation and a promotion in under a year, she feels she can go in any direction — and she’s ready to stick around to see where that might be.
“I thought I wouldn’t like it, and I love it. I don’t have any plans on leaving,” she concluded.
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