Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between tower hands 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 $38,967 average annual salary of a tower hand.
The top three skills for a tower hand include CPR, RF and OSHA. The most important skills for a telecom technician are fiber optic cables, voip, and switches.
| Tower Hand | Telecom Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,967 | $54,352 |
| Hourly rate | $18.73 | $26.13 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 7,550 | 111,865 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| 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.
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 hands and telecom technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Hand | Telecom Technician | |
| Average salary | $38,967 | $54,352 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $59,000 | Between $33,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a tower hand and a telecom technician in terms of educational background:
| Tower Hand | Telecom Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | 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 hands' and telecom technicians' demographics:
| Tower Hand | Telecom Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% | Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0% |
| 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, 12.5% 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% |