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The differences between cable technicians and tower hands can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cable technician has an average salary of $47,289, which is higher than the $38,967 average annual salary of a tower hand.
The top three skills for a cable technician include broadband, customer service and ladders. The most important skills for a tower hand are CPR, RF, and OSHA.
| Cable Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Yearly salary | $47,289 | $38,967 |
| Hourly rate | $22.74 | $18.73 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 120,249 | 7,550 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | High School Diploma, 54% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A cable technician is responsible for managing cable systems, installing cable equipment, upgrading network systems, and troubleshooting cable issues. Cable technicians' duties include replacing defective cabling, running diagnostic tests on newly-installed cable systems, inspecting cable towers and ground cables, providing cable instructions to the customer, responding to customer's cable inquiries and requests, and ensuring the safety of cable structures. A cable technician must have a strong understanding of electrical systems and cable technology, following the established procedures and environmental policies.
A tower hand is an individual who climbs towers or poles to install, repair, and perform routine maintenance on electrical equipment. Tower hands are required to climb up very tall structures to perform maintenance on equipment such as power lines, cell tower components, or radio antenna equipment. They must perform audits on their climbing equipment so that they can determine the quality of their equipment as well as avoid defects. Tower hands must be competent climbers so that they can safely climb towers while carrying heavy equipment.
Cable technicians and tower hands have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cable Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Average salary | $47,289 | $38,967 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $64,000 | Between $25,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jackson, NJ | - |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | - |
| Best paying company | Baker Hughes | - |
| Best paying industry | Media | - |
There are a few differences between a cable technician and a tower hand in terms of educational background:
| Cable Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | High School Diploma, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between cable technicians' and tower hands' demographics:
| Cable Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0% | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |