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Tower technician vs central office technician

The differences between tower technicians and central office technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a central office technician has an average salary of $39,043, which is higher than the $37,471 average annual salary of a tower technician.

The top three skills for a tower technician include OSHA, CPR and RF. The most important skills for a central office technician are fiber optic cables, switches, and T1.

Tower technician vs central office technician overview

Tower TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Yearly salary$37,471$39,043
Hourly rate$18.01$18.77
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs92,56679,138
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 41%Associate Degree, 41%
Average age4545
Years of experience--

Tower technician vs central office technician salary

Tower technicians and central office technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Tower TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Average salary$37,471$39,043
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $46,000Between $24,000 And $63,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WA-
Highest paying stateAlaska-
Best paying companySPX-
Best paying industryConstruction-

Differences between tower technician and central office technician education

There are a few differences between a tower technician and a central office technician in terms of educational background:

Tower TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 41%Associate Degree, 41%
Most common majorBusinessElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNew York UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Tower technician vs central office technician demographics

Here are the differences between tower technicians' and central office technicians' demographics:

Tower TechnicianCentral Office Technician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 96.9% Female, 3.1%Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between tower technician and central office technician duties and responsibilities

Tower technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage and make critical decisions in accordance with regulations for access and scheduling for certain private and federal FAA sites.
  • Hang and connect antenna's and TMA's.
  • Install grind rods and cad weld to form grind ring.
  • Complete several CPR and safety courses.
  • Remove old antennas and install new LTE antennas.
  • Get materials together, climb and rig towers.
  • Show more

Central office technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage assigned Ericsson AXE patch upgrades and retrofits for all AXE sites.
  • Assist in managing CDMA network, Voice/EVDO circuit's layouts, CDM circuit inventory and roll over's for cell sites.
  • Install all Nortel DMS series equipment.
  • Operate power-meters, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, and various RF test equipment.
  • Install and troubleshoot telecommunications circuits and devices including legacy, asynchronous, SONET, and Ethernet equipment.
  • Associate duties include running cable, lacing, stitching, wire wrapping, mounting bays, etc.
  • Show more

Tower technician vs central office technician skills

Common tower technician skills
  • OSHA, 17%
  • CPR, 15%
  • RF, 14%
  • Hand Tools, 8%
  • Safety Procedures, 5%
  • PIM, 4%
Common central office technician skills
  • Fiber Optic Cables, 8%
  • Switches, 7%
  • T1, 5%
  • Provisioning, 5%
  • DS3, 4%
  • IP, 4%

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