4 Things A Good Tower Climber Never Forgets

Climbing communications towers that are hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet in the air, is a very dangerous job! Most towers have no mechanical lifts, so getting to the desired height means scaling rungs hand-over-hand, usually while wearing bulky safety gear and carrying an equipment bag.

While the risk of falling is great, the freedom is greater. The Following are the 4 Things A Good Tower Climber Never Forgets

#1: A Proper Climb Plan

Working on a tower involves coordinating and planning with numerous parties even before stepping up on the first rung. Involved groups include the carrier that is contracting the work, the tower owners, and other carriers that share the tower or operate from nearby towers.

During the planning process, consider the following:

• Do you have the appropriate work permits?


• Do the carriers know the day(s) and time(s) of day that installers will be on the tower?


• Have arrangements been made to ensure reduced RF transmission levels while the installers are on the tower?


• Has a proper Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) procedure been implemented in order to protect personnel on the tower, especially if RF transmitters are controlled remotely?

A proper climb plan ensures that everyone is informed and that the work can be conducted on the tower safe and effectively.

#2: Observing Proper Warning Signage

Towers are big, hulking structures and warrant the placement of RF radiation warning signs in appropriate locations along the ladder. These signs should be large, bright, and clearly state: “On this tower: radio frequency fields near some antennas may exceed FCC rules for human exposure. Personnel climbing this tower should be trained for working in RF environments and should use a personal RF monitor.”

By observing the proper warning signage, climbers receive a clear, bold message that they are entering a hazardous zone. If communications towers lack such signage, climbing them should be avoided until the RF conditions at that site can be verified by both the occupying carriers and the tower owners.

#3: Keeping Climbing Safety Gear in Good Repair and Within Allowable Dates-of-Use

All climbing safety gear comes with an expiration date. The reason is that with extensive use, harnesses, straps, and clips become worn and stressed to the point where they may not perform as intended at a critical time.

Don’t take unnecessary chances if any safety gear has an allowable date-of-use that has expired, do not attempt to use that gear beyond that date.

#4: Climbing With Inadequate Safety and Protection Gear

Weather and hazardous conditions that exist high up on a tower are not always evident on the ground. Experienced climbers recognize that before attempting to scale a tower, they must be fully suited with a helmet, safety glasses, gloves, jackets, pants, boots, as well as outfitted with a safety harness, lifeline, carabineers, lanyards, rope grabs, and tool belts.

Taking shortcuts is never a good idea. The investment in all the necessary equipment and gear will pay off the first time it’s needed several hundred feet in the air.

These safety measures are not just ideas or suggestions. They are essential in every good climbers climb to avoid hazards and to follow sound, accepted tower climbing techniques.

Our life depends on them.

4 Things A Good Tower Climber Never Forgets

Tower Climber Jobs - What you need to know.

Tower climber jobs are advertised all over the internet, and if you are thinking of going into the industry and or are already within it, hoping to find a different position and then you have plenty of places to be looking. However, there are three factors that you need to consider when you are hoping to find the best states to find tower climber jobs, and not enough people give them enough thought:

1. You may never actually end up working in the state that the job is advertised for.

One of the great unknown aspects of being a tower climber is that you travel around a lot. In fact, it has been estimated that out of fifty two weeks in the year, tower climbers will actually only be home around ten weeks. That means an awful lot of traveling around the country, often sleeping out of a truck. Tower climbing is by no means a glamorous job. Therefore, if there is a particular state in which a job is being advertised, a state that appeals to you, and in which you and/or your family would like to live in, you need to make sure that you ask some serious questions of the employers. It is vital that you find out from them exactly how much time they think you will be spending in that particular state. You may find that the headquarters of the company is in that state, but that the job itself that they are advertising is on the other side of the country! Be prepared to ask some hard questions, and receive some hard answers.

2. Lots of jobs may mean lots of people leaving.

You may find a state in which there are many positions opening up for tower climbers, but this should ring alarm bells rather than celebratory bells. If a lot of people are leaving one particular company, then you will need to find out why. Maybe their safety record is not that good. Maybe they demand that their staff works too many hours, and doesn’t give them enough reward for that. Maybe that company is not family friendly, and makes it difficult for their employees to see their children enough. Whatever the reason is, you should do your utmost to find out exactly why people are not satisfied with the company that they are working for. It may be that those reasons do not apply to you ñ perhaps you don’t have a family, and want to work a high number of hours. But it is always better to be informed before you start making any big decisions, and sometimes lots of jobs opening up in one area really is too good to be true. On the other hand, it could be that a new company is setting up, which is great! The key here is information.

3. Different states will have different levels of safety.

Although there are laws which govern all of the tower climbing regulations across the country, every single different state will have a different way of implementing these rules. It is vital that you understand exactly how working in those areas will effect the working conditions that you will be expected to spend your days in. Tower climbing is a dangerous job, and you should demand and expect the most rigorous safety levels within your workplace. Some employers in states do not recognize this, and so it is key that you identify these when you are applying for jobs and because no job, no matter how great, is worth risking your life for.

Tower Climber Jobs - What you need to know.

Hiring Tower Climbers

As someone that has the power of giving people a job, you know just how important it is that you do your job right. You don’t want to be giving the job to the wrong person, because you’ll just have to let them go within a few months! But one of the most complicated and difficult job to hire for is that of tower climbers. Chances are, you never actually see what it is that tower climbers even do, so how can you decide whether a person that is sitting in front of you is right for the job?

Here are our five top tips for hiring tower climbers:

1. Find out what they actually do.

Tower climbers are people that, for a living, climb up incredibly tall towers to make sure that they are structurally sound, and that the electronic equipment that they are carrying is all working properly. They are the people that go up to mend anything when something goes wrong. It is a very dangerous job, and one that involves a high level of thinking at great heights. When you truly understand what the job entails, you will be much better prepared to start looking at job applications, and doing interviews.

2. Check qualifications carefully.

It is the law that anyone who climbs a tower on behalf of a company has the relevant qualifications, otherwise it is illegal, and you and your company could be due a huge fine. These rules are there to protect everyone: the company, and the climber. Make sure that you double check all of the qualifications that an applicant says that they have, and perhaps use some questions within the interview to make sure that their qualifications are recent and in date.

3. Consider bringing in a tower climber.

If you are really worried about not getting your head around the interview process for hiring a new tower climber for your company, then one brilliant idea would be to bring in a proficient tower climber that already works for your business. As well as being able to give you a really good idea whether someone is able to do the job well, an experienced tower climber will also be able to know whether that new person will fit into the team well. There is a huge amount of trust involved in tower climbing, and no one wants to have someone in the group that they can’t rely on.

4. Ensure they understand what the job entails.

You will need to ask very deep and searching questions at this point. A large part of being a tower climber is travel ñ one tower climber, Lauren James, stated that she spent thirty days straight on the road climbing towers, and then one full week at home. That doesn’t give you much time for a social life, let alone seeing friends and family. It is vital that you make it clear to the person that you are interviewing that that is the way that most tower climbing jobs are, and if they are not happy with that, then they are not right for the job.

5. Go with your gut.

Sometimes, there is not great formula for deciding who should get a job or not. Instead, it will come down to your instincts, and going with the person that you just think is right for the job. This is especially important when you are trying to decide between two people that are both very good for the job. Unless there are two positions, then only one person can join your company, so go with your gut.

Hiring Tower Climbers

So you want to be a Tower Climber

Our world is changing so fast. New technology brings so many new fields for interested people who want to experience different jobs. One of the hardest and most unusual jobs in the world is tower climbing. With the increasing use of wireless electronic devices, the need for tower climbers is increasing every day. The job has been recognized in 2004 as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.


Tower dogs can work in several places. They can work on television and government radio towers, commercial radio, and navigation towers. Many of these highly skilled and highly trained people install and maintain antennae, and other transmission systems.

A tower dawg must carry all necessary equipment and testing devices up the tower as he or she climbs, and then they have to search accurately for the damaged section, and repair it. But if more serious problems are discovered, other tower dawg colleagues will be required to aid in the repair.

A person who wants to be a tower dawg should at least have a school diploma with high grades, great physical strength, and definitely cannot be afraid of heights! These are the very basic necessities for a tower dawg.

Having primary knowledge about electronics is the next step. You must know how to repair an antenna wire and cables. It is necessary to pass some classes, and get some qualifications in this area. Companies that want to employ tower dawgs will usually hold some classes for those that are interested. In these classes, which may take a single day, but can stretch over a week, will teach you climbing techniques, safety procedures, and other principal techniques of the trade.

Training courses will often include two levels. First, it is vital that you learn OSHA rules, standards, and how to operate the necessary equipment. In the advanced level, you will learn current tower safety training standards that are used by OSHA, NATE, American Tower, Bechtel, General Dynamics, and many others. Advanced training will also include rope access skills, self-rescue, advanced rescue techniques, and rescue planning. Some electronic courses will need to be passed.

Safety is the main issue when it comes to tower climbing. A tower dogs must have safety equipment for every situation. There are so many factors for high quality and safety gear that companies and tower dogs will need to consider. According to OSHA rules and standards a tower climber must have the following equipment in his or her bag:

- dual leg shock absorbing lanyard or equivalent

- full-body harness designed for tower climbing

- climbing helmet for head protection

- safety-climb cable attachment device

- gloves for hand protection

- steel-toed boots for foot protection

- clear or tinted glasses for eye protection

- first aid kit

- two way radio

- positioning lanyard

- several OSHA approved carabineers

- pair of binoculars

Although a tower climber must pass all necessary courses, and know all of the rules and standards in the job, they must still be careful with every tower that they climb. They must especially consider a suitable climb plan with each tower, never climb with unsafe gear, and must turn on the RF personal alarm during the climbing time.

So you want to be a Tower Climber

Tower Climber Salary

The wild and adventurous life of a tower climber is one that many people, men and women included, often aspire to. However, the dangers that naturally come with working at such heights, in all weathers, usually around live electricity, are usually enough to prevent the majority of people that are interested in a career as a tower climber to think again, and choose something different. For those brave men and women that are persistent, and seriously look at tower climber jobs, there are rich rewards for them.


Of course, the exact numbers of what a tower climber will earn throughout a year will greatly depend on the type of towers that he or she climbs, and the company that they work for. However, just like other people that work in high pressure, stressful, technical and dangerous jobs, such as pilots, doctors, and other electrical engineers, the salary that a tower climber will receive reflects all of these factors. A typical tower climber salary for someone that is just starting off can seem to be incredibly high, but it is a mark of the respect and danger that the job garners. A beginner at tower climbing can expect to be earning around $40,000 a year, and even up to $60,000! That is why tower climber jobs are so popular.

On the other hand, to give a balanced view it must be said that a tower climber salary can vary wildly. In fact, a study has shown that the lowest ten percent of tower climbers are only paid about $26,200 a year, which certainly does not seem like a fair wage. Of course, the longer you work as a tower climber, the higher your wages will become, especially if you progress to become a tower project manager. A tower foreman salary is obviously going to be much higher, because with that extra workload comes extra responsibility. Typical salaries for tower climber foremans can range from $70,000 a year to even a majestic $130,000!

So, if you are considering whether or not to train to become a tower climber, do not let the worries about low wages concern you. There is plenty of money within the business to support you, and even a family if you have one, so why not take the plunge, and begin your journey that leads to some of the most incredible views in the world!

Tower Climber Salary