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The differences between tower climbers and telecom technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a telecom technician has an average salary of $54,352, 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 telecom technician are fiber optic cables, voip, and switches.
| Tower Climber | Telecom Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,248 | $54,352 |
| Hourly rate | $19.83 | $26.13 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 18,165 | 111,865 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| 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 telecom technician is responsible for overseeing and maintaining telecommunication systems. They are usually in charge of planning and conceptualizing systems, performing installations and adjustments, troubleshooting problems, and conducting repairs. Through extensive research and analysis, they also develop and implement test structures that ensure the safety and efficiency of systems, create strategies to optimize workflow, and implement solutions against areas needing improvement. Moreover, aside from providing technical support, a telecom technician may also establish guidelines and recommend technical practices.
Tower climbers and telecom technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Climber | Telecom Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,248 | $54,352 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $59,000 | Between $33,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | General Dynamics Mission Systems | - |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | - |
There are a few differences between a tower climber and a telecom technician in terms of educational background:
| Tower Climber | Telecom Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | New York University | Inter American University of Puerto Rico Bayamon |
Here are the differences between tower climbers' and telecom technicians' demographics:
| Tower Climber | Telecom Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3% | Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0% |
| 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, 12.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |