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The differences between tower technicians and tower hands 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 $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 tower hand are CPR, RF, and OSHA.
| Tower Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Yearly salary | $37,471 | $38,967 |
| Hourly rate | $18.01 | $18.73 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 92,566 | 7,550 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 54% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A tower technician is responsible for maintaining the performance stability of line towers to provide the best network services for the customers. Tower technicians are often out in the field to conduct repairs and installations for the customers, inspecting the area's condition, and reporting structural inconsistencies and defects. They should have excellent mechanical and electrical knowledge to resolve issues immediately and create resolution manuals to prevent reoccurrence and ensure the safeness and security of line towers.
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 technicians and tower hands have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tower Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Average salary | $37,471 | $38,967 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $46,000 | Between $25,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | - |
| Best paying company | SPX | - |
| Best paying industry | Construction | - |
There are a few differences between a tower technician and a tower hand in terms of educational background:
| Tower Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between tower technicians' and tower hands' demographics:
| Tower Technician | Tower Hand | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.9% Female, 3.1% | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 11.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |