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The differences between tower climbers and installation technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tower climber has an average salary of $41,248, which is higher than the $38,043 average annual salary of an installation technician.
The top three skills for a tower climber include CPR, RF and OSHA. The most important skills for an installation technician are customer service, ladders, and hand tools.
| Tower Climber | Installation Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,248 | $38,043 |
| Hourly rate | $19.83 | $18.29 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 18,165 | 129,534 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| 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.
Installation technicians are responsible for handling and installing all types of electronic systems and equipment. An installation technician should be well-knowledgeable about the equipment complexity to conduct troubleshooting for system malfunction or provide necessary instructions for the customers. In some cases, installation technicians are required to conduct regular checks and maintenance to ensure that the system functions properly, upgrading, or replacing equipment for improvement. Installation technicians usually handle customer queries for the system and are expected to resolve issues through remote work or area visit.
Tower climbers and installation technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Climber | Installation Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,248 | $38,043 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $59,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | General Dynamics Mission Systems | Pella |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a tower climber and an installation technician in terms of educational background:
| Tower Climber | Installation Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between tower climbers' and installation technicians' demographics:
| Tower Climber | Installation Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3% | Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4% |
| 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, 12.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |