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The differences between tower hands and installation technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tower hand has an average salary of $38,967, which is higher than the $38,043 average annual salary of an installation technician.
The top three skills for a tower hand include CPR, RF and OSHA. The most important skills for an installation technician are customer service, ladders, and hand tools.
| Tower Hand | Installation Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,967 | $38,043 |
| Hourly rate | $18.73 | $18.29 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 7,550 | 129,534 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
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 hands and installation technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Hand | Installation Technician | |
| Average salary | $38,967 | $38,043 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $59,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Pella |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a tower hand and an installation technician in terms of educational background:
| Tower Hand | Installation Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | 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 hands' and installation technicians' demographics:
| Tower Hand | Installation Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% | Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |