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The differences between tower climbers and cable technicians 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 $41,248 average annual salary of a tower climber.
The top three skills for a tower climber include CPR, RF and OSHA. The most important skills for a cable technician are broadband, customer service, and ladders.
| Tower Climber | Cable Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,248 | $47,289 |
| Hourly rate | $19.83 | $22.74 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 18,165 | 120,249 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | High School Diploma, 39% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Tower Climbers are professionals who are responsible for performing comprehensive installations, inspections, and maintenance on cell towers, self-supporting towers, and other tower transmitter systems. These climbers are required to complete tower safety courses so that they can climb communication towers to assist crews in repairing and inspecting communication boxes. They must operate heavy equipment to prepare sites for the construction and erection of communication towers. Tower Climbers should also guarantee the safety of their crews during extreme weather conditions by following company policies and procedures.
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.
Tower climbers and cable technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Climber | Cable Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,248 | $47,289 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $59,000 | Between $34,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Jackson, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | General Dynamics Mission Systems | Baker Hughes |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Media |
There are a few differences between a tower climber and a cable technician in terms of educational background:
| Tower Climber | Cable Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | High School Diploma, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between tower climbers' and cable technicians' demographics:
| Tower Climber | Cable Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3% | Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |