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The differences between tower hands and tower climbers 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 $38,967 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 tower climber are CPR, RF, and OSHA.
| Tower Hand | Tower Climber | |
| Yearly salary | $38,967 | $41,248 |
| Hourly rate | $18.73 | $19.83 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 7,550 | 18,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | High School Diploma, 49% |
| 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.
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.
Tower hands and tower climbers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Hand | Tower Climber | |
| Average salary | $38,967 | $41,248 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $59,000 | Between $28,000 And $59,000 |
| 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 hand and a tower climber in terms of educational background:
| Tower Hand | Tower Climber | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | High School Diploma, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between tower hands' and tower climbers' demographics:
| Tower Hand | Tower Climber | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% | Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3% |
| 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, 12.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |