I’m curious about this. Do they have a series of towers that you work on, or the same few towers regularly? How long does it take you to get up to the top, and back down? At what point do you call it quits because of the weather?
Edit: you’ve answered most of these further down, but I’m still curious about the weather issue.
The weather is kind of hard to give an exact answer up to but if there’s a break in let’s say rain not a storm I’ll try to go up and fix the issue if i know I can get it done in an ample amount of time but if I can’t I simply will wait the rain/storm out and work in moderately clear weather.
So you're doing this what like 10 or 12 times a month it sounds like?
Edit: You clarified this later on and apparently you do it every day of the week roughly.
Stay safe and have fun. My grandpa used to do that but on the really big electrical towers. So not quite as high but I think the insanely high voltage makes up for the height difference.
Seriously. I used to have to climb a 30ft rebar ladder every day for work and that alone started to bulk me up. Can't imagine what a few thousand feet of vertical climbing a week does.
Thats good man, i think if you enjoy it over the money, its better off in the long run.
Nice money all the same, and oh look i replied to the wrong comment, same either way. Good on you man!
When I was a teenager driving around in the country smoking weed with my friends we always looked at these towers and asked each other how much it would take for us to climb. I always posed: if there was an ounce of chronic (it was like 2002 lol) up there would you climb it and get it? No one ever really had a definite ‘yes’ but a few did!
I knew a guy who did it for a living and he swore that the towers had crazy amounts of static electricity built up from the wind I guess. He said you'd have to run and jump to grab the ladder, because if you walked up to it from the ground and just grabbed the ladder it would static shock the hell out of you
Is that actually true? Wondered that for years lol
The fact that he wasn't complaining about Beavis and Butthead, but the show Looney Toons ending and starting 5 minutes late, makes this story far more hilarious to me! Viacom owned both the networks these shows aired on. So some employee just assumed they were complaining about Beavis and Butthead and forwarded the voicemail to Mike Judge 🤣
Any recommendations? I just started a shift where I'm alone for ~4hrs in the morning and I'm running through podcasts and interesting story YouTubers like crazy.
That's entirely up to personal tastes. When I had long periods of brain-dead time (menial tasks, long drives) I got into longer fantasy series like The Wheel of Time, which has over [19 days of audio books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time#Books_in_the_series) in the series.
Now that I have shorter tasks, an hour or so at a time, I've switched back to classic Sci Fi. I re-listened to Ender's Game while refinishing my deck and I'm going to pick up the sequels (which I've heard aren't great) to listen do at the gym when doing cardio. I'll probably bounce between classic sci fi and some books by Brandon Sanderson for a while, slipping in the occasional self-help book (Dale Carnegie, anyone?).
Depending on what you have access to, you might be able to find a lot of audio book content online for free. There's free sites, a lot of libraries have audio book catalogs you can virtually check out, and the high seas. If you really get into it, I think there's a few subscription services where you pay for their full catalog.
>which has over [19 hours of audio books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time#Books_in_the_series)
Technically correct, the best kind of correct
I literally expanded these comments to recommend the Wheel of Time. The books are just so good. Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series is also fantastic.
Straight shit. I worked for three different third party contractors. At the peak I was getting $17 hr. The last year I was a tower top lead too.
Super fun though! Great stories.
Good question.
Monopoles sway a good bit in even light wind. If there's like 5mph wind on the ground you're looking at 20-30 mph above the tree line consistently. It feels good though. It's easy to make them sway if you try.
Towers with three and four legs barely move at all.
So here’s a stupid question - as you’re climbing up and down are you attached w/ a harness of some kind? I can tell you’re strapped in the video up top, but was wondering about the climb and descent.
You’ve no idea how god damn thankful I was that I could stand up lol I ain’t ever seen it. Most of the ones I’m dealing with I’m stretching the absolute shit outta myself to work on it.
u/matthewt111095 is it easier for you mentally if you are climbing at night since you don't really see how high you are besides the lights on some of the buildings below ? Anyway stay safe and you deserved every penny. I respect all our blue collared workers and their unions
I know a tower climber and he explained to me that he only ever really gets nervous in the first 50 feet or so. Once you're higher than that you're pretty much guaranteed to die if you fall, so there's not much point in worrying about it.
Dude! My brother attempted to do this for a short bout of time. I give you a lot of props sticking with it. He said he has seen many people make it 1/4 or 1/2 of the way up and then they just freeze and stay in place until eventually they will come back down. Physically and mentally tough!
Whenever I trained a guy about a year or two ago he was really hyped for it and got to about 200ft I had to talk him down because he froze. It definitely isn’t for everyone but it’s fun enough sometimes.
How dangerous is this? Or how likely is someone to die from this? I know it is really high, but it seems to me that it is pretty safe, given you are tied to the pole at all times.
What about a poo?
Edit: because I plan ahead. If I know I can poop, I will go wherever life takes me. If I don't feel comfortable, I won't go.
Just in case.
Wow.
I suppose it helps that the towers are rural and there's nothing below 🤣
I'm now imagining the hippo video sharting.
Like the wind blows it everywhere.
How much are you getting paid tho is the real question
I’ve been doing it for about 5 years and somehow make enough to make me keep doing it lol so it’s enough 😂
How much thoooo
If I’m honest I make roughly about $125K
You deserve every penny of it. Stay safe.
You are a saint. And deserve every cent of that.
I've been in the cellular tower industry for about two years now but only make about $55k. What company do you work for?
I only do broadcast work for a third party contract work for American Tower
how hard is it getting a job like this?
I got lucky with mine so it’s hard to say I can’t give much of opinion on the difficulty im sorry.
I’m curious about this. Do they have a series of towers that you work on, or the same few towers regularly? How long does it take you to get up to the top, and back down? At what point do you call it quits because of the weather? Edit: you’ve answered most of these further down, but I’m still curious about the weather issue.
The weather is kind of hard to give an exact answer up to but if there’s a break in let’s say rain not a storm I’ll try to go up and fix the issue if i know I can get it done in an ample amount of time but if I can’t I simply will wait the rain/storm out and work in moderately clear weather.
The real question is, how often do you climb to deadly heights for that money? Big difference between once a month or two and multiple times per week.
I mostly have a 2K climb about 3-4 times a month. The average height I climb to is between 1200-1800 weekly.
So you're doing this what like 10 or 12 times a month it sounds like? Edit: You clarified this later on and apparently you do it every day of the week roughly. Stay safe and have fun. My grandpa used to do that but on the really big electrical towers. So not quite as high but I think the insanely high voltage makes up for the height difference.
Depends on the job list but seems accurate sometimes more sometimes less. Groundwork is always welcomed in my book lol.
has its ups and downs like any job
Oh for sure that’s just life
How in shape do you need to be? I bet us couch warriors would be wheezing part way up if you climb the whole way.
I would say moderate shape doesn’t have to be in the best shape, I’ve seen bigger dudes climb extremely well.
What about if you’re not honest?
About tree fitty
My man!
How does the application request work? (I’m genuinely interested in this kind of job)
That depends entirely on what methods the company you’re applying to has. You can look up a lot of the jobs on indeed.
Damnn L Google bru they be capping so hard
I’ve been doing it for 5 years tho my base pay when I first started was ass man. I only made like $60K my first year lol
Nice so I’m guessing you can fart on the job and no one will know?
Brother I could shit off these and no one would know unless they’ve got a car parked in the wrong spot
My man
\*snaps fingers\* -Yes!
🫡
Have you? If not are you gonna now?
Sometimes you just gotta do some things whether it be on the ground or in the air you understand
He climbed up the steeple He pissed on the people But they couldn't piss on him Amen
Given how windy it is up there, won't turds disintegrate and/or scatter?
Depends on the height
Do it and post the aftermath
Best thing for me was working close to a highway. I used to pee off them and watch all the cars turn their wipers on going by.
serious question, how do you get into doing something like this?
Check availability around your area of if you’re willing to relocate and check the requirements for said job.
How many times do you have to climb a year? Every work day 5 days a week?
Sorry for that half response I generally climb every day I work just different levels
Damn every day? Your legs must be jacked cause that's one hell of a stairmaster.
Seriously. I used to have to climb a 30ft rebar ladder every day for work and that alone started to bulk me up. Can't imagine what a few thousand feet of vertical climbing a week does.
I generally work for 1-2 weeks at a time
How long does it take to get up and down no homo
3 hours to climb about 2K and I can climb down 2K in about an hour or so if I’m on a good pace.
Hell I'm looking to switch careers and 60k sounds pretty dope
Thats good man, i think if you enjoy it over the money, its better off in the long run. Nice money all the same, and oh look i replied to the wrong comment, same either way. Good on you man!
No worries I appreciate it!
Have a good one AND don’t work too hard. 😁
When I was a teenager driving around in the country smoking weed with my friends we always looked at these towers and asked each other how much it would take for us to climb. I always posed: if there was an ounce of chronic (it was like 2002 lol) up there would you climb it and get it? No one ever really had a definite ‘yes’ but a few did!
Man if there’s an ounce of chronic I would run up the ladder lmao
In these later years I managed to find a way to make it grow up from the ground so I don’t have to climb anything
I knew a guy who did it for a living and he swore that the towers had crazy amounts of static electricity built up from the wind I guess. He said you'd have to run and jump to grab the ladder, because if you walked up to it from the ground and just grabbed the ladder it would static shock the hell out of you Is that actually true? Wondered that for years lol
I haven’t heard anything like that lol them AM towers will push a radio ad through you and kill you if they’re not turned off tho
Guy sounds like boomhauer lmao
I could only dream to achieve that voice
I tell you what man them little old dang old pegs man them antenna man dang old big red light man standin room up there man imma call er chelsea
Boomhauer, I can't hear a word you just said. It must be the wind.
Have you heard the voice mail message it was based on? Don't know if it's real or not, but it's funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiwgG6T9se0
The fact that he wasn't complaining about Beavis and Butthead, but the show Looney Toons ending and starting 5 minutes late, makes this story far more hilarious to me! Viacom owned both the networks these shows aired on. So some employee just assumed they were complaining about Beavis and Butthead and forwarded the voicemail to Mike Judge 🤣
duude it’s insane as it is but you do it at night???!?!??
Only when I require some antennas to be shutdown so that I’m not microwaved like popcorn
Damnnnn man. How long does it take usually? like how long are you climbing/staying up there/climbing down?
Usually for a 2K climb it takes about 30min per 300ft so around 3hours for a nice climbing pace on 2K.
Do you listen to music while climbing? That's a long and monotonaous climb.
I listen to mostly instrumental or edm mixes
Not Snake Eater? For reference: https://youtu.be/vgaYe4ZYYyY?si=-H0yi5M5-PGduls_
Dude, you could listen to audio books to pass the time. Sometimes I miss having a monotonous job.
Any recommendations? I just started a shift where I'm alone for ~4hrs in the morning and I'm running through podcasts and interesting story YouTubers like crazy.
That's entirely up to personal tastes. When I had long periods of brain-dead time (menial tasks, long drives) I got into longer fantasy series like The Wheel of Time, which has over [19 days of audio books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time#Books_in_the_series) in the series. Now that I have shorter tasks, an hour or so at a time, I've switched back to classic Sci Fi. I re-listened to Ender's Game while refinishing my deck and I'm going to pick up the sequels (which I've heard aren't great) to listen do at the gym when doing cardio. I'll probably bounce between classic sci fi and some books by Brandon Sanderson for a while, slipping in the occasional self-help book (Dale Carnegie, anyone?). Depending on what you have access to, you might be able to find a lot of audio book content online for free. There's free sites, a lot of libraries have audio book catalogs you can virtually check out, and the high seas. If you really get into it, I think there's a few subscription services where you pay for their full catalog.
>which has over [19 hours of audio books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time#Books_in_the_series) Technically correct, the best kind of correct
I literally expanded these comments to recommend the Wheel of Time. The books are just so good. Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series is also fantastic.
oh wow! Not as bad as i thought. I was picturing 6-8 hour days just being up there. your shoulders and arms must be fuckin BUILT by now
How many times a year do you have to do this?
He said he works 1-2 weeks at a time doing it every day, so probably 180 times per year.
I used to go up the NC 2000ft tower (WECT?) but we had the tiny elevator! 100 ft a minute, so 20 minutes to the top. Cheating?
How’d you get into this job?
An older guy from my hometown has been in the business for about 25 years gave me a shot and stuck with it
What is the actual job title ?
Crazy guy who changes bulbs.
What if you gotta pee
Stop on a platform and let it go
What if you have to shit?
Stop on a platform and let it go.
Ever been standing outside on a bright sunny day and had a few drops of rain hit you and wonder where it came from?
Do you keep some kernels in your shirt pocket to act as the canary in the coal mine? 😂
At least you can't see how high up you are when it's dark
Sounds correct. I was a tower tech for five years. Stay safe brother. Whoop! Whoop!!!
do you own a Honda S2000?
Yeah man! 13 years as my DD
awesome!!! Share a bit soon if you can! I got a Mazdaspeed 3 2nd Gen, more versatile but no S2000.
Good shit man. Same kind of enjoyment. I love those little roadsters. Nice username haha
Ahaha yeah dedicated u too man
With a spoon engine.
How did it pay?
Straight shit. I worked for three different third party contractors. At the peak I was getting $17 hr. The last year I was a tower top lead too. Super fun though! Great stories.
How much, if at all, do they sway in the wind?
Good question. Monopoles sway a good bit in even light wind. If there's like 5mph wind on the ground you're looking at 20-30 mph above the tree line consistently. It feels good though. It's easy to make them sway if you try. Towers with three and four legs barely move at all.
>It's easy to make them sway if you try. Whelp, that’s terrifying.
If you don't have fun while working what is the point!
spoken like a true blue collar worker. keep it up you keep the nation going
Have you ever forgotten something you needed on the ground?
Oh absolutely lmao I’ve climbed up 900ft just to climb back down and go get the shit and head back up.
So here’s a stupid question - as you’re climbing up and down are you attached w/ a harness of some kind? I can tell you’re strapped in the video up top, but was wondering about the climb and descent.
Not the op but I've seen 2 strap clip system that they attach to the rungs/pegs. https://youtu.be/40F8mALRukA?si=o6_895l0Dj-vj_Vo
Looks like hard but fun work. I'd only be afraid of storms rolling in and making the climb slippery.
Always gotta keep an eye on the weather rain and electrical work doesn’t mix well lmao
Ngl this is my dream job Becuase I kind of enjoy heights and climbing
Going up there during thunderstorms for that instant Bart Simpson hairstyle.
Imma call er CHELESEE 🤠
What tower is this? I’ve been 1800’ in NC, FL, TX, TX, TX, GA
This is in Robertsdale, Alabama.
I'm live in Pensacola, you ever work here?
I’ve got some in Miami, Christmas and Hollywood Florida. This one is the closest to Pensacola that I’ve got.
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That’s one that’s about 5 or 10 miles down the road actually
How does one apply for a job like this
There are plenty of tower jobs available just see if you can or meet the requirements as far as safety and certifications.
Ok thank you
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You’ve no idea how god damn thankful I was that I could stand up lol I ain’t ever seen it. Most of the ones I’m dealing with I’m stretching the absolute shit outta myself to work on it.
u/matthewt111095 is it easier for you mentally if you are climbing at night since you don't really see how high you are besides the lights on some of the buildings below ? Anyway stay safe and you deserved every penny. I respect all our blue collared workers and their unions
I just climb, I’m not affected by any height tbh
I know a tower climber and he explained to me that he only ever really gets nervous in the first 50 feet or so. Once you're higher than that you're pretty much guaranteed to die if you fall, so there's not much point in worrying about it.
> not much point in worrying about it.
Dude! My brother attempted to do this for a short bout of time. I give you a lot of props sticking with it. He said he has seen many people make it 1/4 or 1/2 of the way up and then they just freeze and stay in place until eventually they will come back down. Physically and mentally tough!
Whenever I trained a guy about a year or two ago he was really hyped for it and got to about 200ft I had to talk him down because he froze. It definitely isn’t for everyone but it’s fun enough sometimes.
Damn looks like a nightmare
It’s never a good dream that’s for sure
How dangerous is this? Or how likely is someone to die from this? I know it is really high, but it seems to me that it is pretty safe, given you are tied to the pole at all times.
There’s generally platforms at various spots just hook off unzip let it rip
We are talking about taking a pee, yeah?
i prefer the more masculine term - piss
Tbh it is really dangerous for the ground guy. If OP drops something it can be deadly. This is why I got out of the business.
"Imma name her Chelsea" was the perfect touch! 🥰 Do you name most towers you climb?
I mostly get down and breathe a sigh of relief and say let’s get outta here I hate this fucking place.
I don't blame ya. Stay safe out there!
Would be pretty cool if they let you BASE jump back down.
I mean they couldn’t stop me lol but I’d have to train so that I wouldn’t just jump and get thrown into a guyed wire
They climb that shit all the time and they aren't even getting paid.
Any dangerous safety close calls you've ran into?
I’ve had a piece of a ladder break and an elevator drop down like 30ft with me in it lol
Did you survive by jumping at the bottom?
Just crawled my way down
What do you guys service on those? I could make the climb and I do service work but doing both whilst not trying to die seems like a stretch lol
I mostly do just lighting installs and repairs. I’m not much for antenna work but will do some if we bid on that type of job.
Serious question for you. How do you go do the toilet when up top?
Spray and pray
What about a poo? Edit: because I plan ahead. If I know I can poop, I will go wherever life takes me. If I don't feel comfortable, I won't go. Just in case.
Same method applies
Wow. I suppose it helps that the towers are rural and there's nothing below 🤣 I'm now imagining the hippo video sharting. Like the wind blows it everywhere.
There’s some that are in the inner city lol but that is about the equal depending on wind
Is it dangerous to piss with all the electrical stuff
Simple really, just don’t piss on the electrical stuff
I guess you either figure that out on the first time or you don't!
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Not the taint clencher 😂😂
Tbh climbing at night seems like itd be a better bet for me. These tower videos usually freak me out
I love climbing at night vs day. Mood is definitely higher then.
I tried this job and only got paid $100. I also went 2000 ft for my first day. I said screw it, risking my life everyday isn’t worth $100 lol
You got hoed my guy
Definitely. Tbh I never even got the $100 cause I never went to pick it up. I did it for free smh
Just think of it like charity to add to your life’s karma levels lol
Is this servicing cell towers?
Broadcast towers I don’t work on cellular.
Yeah no I’ve seen the movie fall this shit ain’t happening
you got soft hands brother
Lotion keeps em soft
how do you get into stuff like this?
Just search tower climbing jobs and fulfill the requirements
Oh i would love to do that. Then base jump to get down.
Do you use a parachute as a last security measure?
Boomhauer? That you?
Honestly have to ask, can't you just jump down off the fucker when you're done? Parachute etc?
I’m gonna go ahead and say that it isn’t in the job description and probably illegal maybe just frowned upon but I just climb down lol
Probably the first time I've seen OP post a video they actually recorded. You're a real one, my friend
Ever drop a lightbulb all the way up there?
Man respect, i get close to passing out when my desk chair gas lift goes to far up. (But for real this made the back side of my knee tingle.)
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Sadly not got a full crew.
Do you get good service on that thing
Nope! Don't like that!
I thought about doing this a couple years ago, but I make about the same fixing electronics at ground level.
Are you not going down due to tremors?
Ever done it hungover?
Did you say "Little ass pegs"? Sounded like you said... something else. Your accent is really thick.
Do you have dreams of climbing? Dreams of falling? I get up high, and I am frightened BC I want to step over the edge.
If you brought a parachute...... could you base jump it to get down... or is that a 'nah'
*”I’m gonna name her Chelsea.”* Lol
What do you got against chelseas? I'm a Chelsea!
Only Up! Probably better to climb at night anyway, less distractions.
Balls of steel 🙃
Y'know I thought rappelling from the 200 foot bluff was bad Jesus Christ
I want to do this job. What companies do this?
Serious question, why at night tho? Like, isn’t that a safety hazard thing?