Tower Climber: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of tower climbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $44,460
- Hourly
- $21.38
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of tower climbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $50,580
- Hourly
- $24.32
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of tower climbers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $63,520
- Hourly
- $30.54
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of tower climbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $82,370
- Hourly
- $39.60
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of tower climbers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $103,990
- Hourly
- $49.99
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Tower Climbers repair, install, or maintain mobile or stationary radio transmitting, broadcasting, and receiving equipment, and two-way radio communications systems used in cellular telecommunications, mobile broadband, ship-to-shore, aircraft-to-ground communications, and radio equipment in service and emergency vehicles. The median pay is $63,520 a year ($30.54 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (31% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $63,520
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 11,140
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- medium preparation
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 31% of workers
Data Government data groups this job as Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers (O*NET-SOC 49-2021.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Tower Climbers at a glance
Workers in the BLS occupation “Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers” in the United States earned a median annual wage of $63,520 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for workers in the BLS occupation “Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers” in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of workers in the BLS occupation “Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers” in the United States to grow 1.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 11,140 people were employed in the BLS occupation “Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers” in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Tower Climbers
What tower climbers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Inspect completed work to ensure all hardware is tight, antennas are level, hangers are properly fastened, proper support is in place, or adequate weather proofing has been installed.
- Run appropriate power, ground, or coaxial cables.
- Test operation of tower transmission components, using sweep testing tools or software.
- Install all necessary transmission equipment components, including antennas or antenna mounts, surge arrestors, transmission lines, connectors, or tower-mounted amplifiers (TMAs).
- Read work orders, blueprints, plans, datasheets or site drawings to determine work to be done.
- Replace existing antennas with new antennas as directed.
- Bolt equipment into place, using hand or power tools.
- Install, connect, or test underground or aboveground grounding systems.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, Telecommunications, Customer and Personal Service, Mechanical, Administration and Management, Engineering and Technology.
Software tower climbers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- AERONET calculatorAnalytical or scientific software
- Caliper MaptitudeGeographic information system
- Computerized maintenance management system CMMSFacilities management software
- Location mapping softwareMap creation software
- Maintenance documentation softwareFacilities management software
- Sweep analysis softwareAnalytical or scientific software
- Zoho WebNMS Cell Tower ManagerAnalytical or scientific software
- Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareIn demand
- Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
- Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareIn demand
- Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareIn demand
- Microsoft WordWord processing softwareIn demand
Also called: Communications Systems Technician, Field Service Technician (Field Service Tech), Field Technician (Field Tech), Installation Technician (Installation Tech), Radio Frequency Technician (RF Tech), Radio Repairman.
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How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.