[REDACTED], Inc. is seeking a tower climber for one or more of the following open positions:It cannot be overstated that this is very hard work and carries more risk than flying a desk or working an assembly line; the pay is adequate -- it has to be: people rarely work on towers for a lark -- but not huge.
1.) Pool position. This can be an independent contractor who strictly meets the IRS definition of "independent contractor" who will be in our "qualified supplier pool" to be on call during times of spike demand or for specialized missions.
2.) Permanent part time. This is a W-2 employment position under our liability and workers compensation policies
3.) Summer intern. This is an employment position for college or trade school students. Especially seeking students in electrical engineering or broadcasting who are interested in gaining experience in the broadcast infrastructure segment of the broadcast industry, as well as complementary exposure in wireless Internet, 2-way business radio and radio paging systems.
Must:
a.) have a valid drivers license without impediments.
b.) be willing to agree to random drug testing.
c.) have an attitude of safety 100% of the time, total professionalism and a commitment to ongoing improvement.
If you know of anyone who might be interested, please feel welcome to forward this e-mail or contact me at your convenience.
[REDACTED]
Vice President
On the other hand, it's an honest trade and one for which there is a constant or slightly rising demand: those smartphone towers don't build themselves! Nor is any such structure maintenance-free. That's the good news. The bad news? This could be a summer job but you make it a career, the work goes on year-round. I've watched this particular crew take down 900 vertical feet of 6"-diameter rigid coaxial line...in falling snow...in January.
On the other other hand, companies tend to be small and crews are smaller yet, an increasingly uncommon work environment; for the right guy, it can be a job of a lifetime. (Tower crews are almost exclusively male -- which is not prejudice; most men aren't up to the physical demands, either. "The higher, the fewer," as Lewis Carroll wrote. Or did he?)
Funny, they don't list "have a death wish" or "enjoy high open areas" under "Must:".
ReplyDelete/me is NOT a fan of heights. Ever.
Before I married I was a JOAT - jack of all trades, in the industry. It's kind of nerve wracking to climb a 160 foot 12 inch face broadcast tower that has one set of guys at the top.
ReplyDeleteAfter I married I kept myself indoors.
Stranger
Why does this remind me Shackleton's call for men?
ReplyDeleteWhile paying my way though school I was a bag carrying ET in land mobile (early 70s). Occasionally that meant climbing a tower. My limit before I would start to get clingy was about 30ft. I stopped when one time doing a telephone pole (wood) tower job I had one of the screw in pegs fall out. I immediatly spiked in and yelled to the guy above me who check the next grab to find it was also easily pulled out. We were on the ground in record time and the serious climbers in the group would not go back up. They stopped making fun of this girl for being fraidy cat about climbing after that. That was one of many old and questionable towers that are out there.
ReplyDeleteIt's serious business. I was at a tower when someone slipped and got hurt thankfully it was only a a broken leg and the safety gear was properly used. Still getting him down was a major project and it was only 80 feet.
My 30 foot ham tower is a tilt over, it comes down to me not the other way!
Eck!
I suppose that might be one way to get over my fear of heights...
ReplyDeleteZerCool: I'm sure they -don't- want someone with a death wish. People like that make it unsafe for everyone else too. Plus the paperwork is horrendous.
ReplyDeleteIf I was 20 years younger and 40% lighter I might aim for something like that. But that ship has sailed, sunk, and the survivors rowed back to shore.
Not my thing {I don't like climbing on a kitchen stool) but I note -
ReplyDelete"valid drivers license without impediments"
and ask if the "must wear glasses" note on mme would disqualify me even if the job requires eye protection?
Hmmm, I always wanted to know what the prerequisites were.
ReplyDeleteAll the ads for tree pruners around here have "experienced" prefixed in front of them. I would think that maybe rock climbing would look good on the resume, as well as a ham ticket.
I've always been totally OK with heights as long as I had safety gear
-SM
I have a friend who lives in Maine who loves his job as a tower climber. He just wishes there were more work for him to do. I don't know if he'd be willing to move to Ind for it though. He loves Maine too much.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a big change for certain -- Maine is pretty much a whole country in one state!
ReplyDeleteWhile I brag on the wide array of food available here, I don't think anywhere in the U.S. can beat Maine for seafood.
My line of work (US merchant marines) is always badly understaffed, as well. I hate the fact that it's impossible to find hard working young kids who want to make 50k out of the box with 26 weeks of vacation a year.
ReplyDeleteI occasionally climb a 100-foot mast to change out an anchor light on my ship- no one else will go. Scares the crap out of me because of the rolling motion. There are some youtube videos of tower climbers that give me the vapors.
Well, I'm a broadcast engineer in Maine, and I get to do some tower climbing, including some winter climbing on the top of some mountains. The worst part is when your hands lose feeling from the cold (subzero and windy) before you even start going up the tower. Lots of dropped parts that way. With the recent thaw, I've found lots of nuts, bolts, and pieces of trash at the base of our towers that I thought I'd never see again.
ReplyDeleteAt least we have great seafood and skiing here in Maine. Not that I care for either. :/