The part that they don’t know if Carlton structural received his ashes and they refuse to say his name is absolutely disgusting and disturbing

Hey guys,

My previous employer shut down, so I'm back on the job hunt.

My background is mostly in RF troubleshooting. I have a lot of experience chasing down PIM and VSWR issues, running Sweep, PIM, OTDR, and fiber testing, and figuring out why a site won't pass. I was often sent back to go-back sites to troubleshoot problems and get them ready for carrier acceptance.

I also have experience with climbing, antenna and radio installs, coax, fiber, grounding, Raycap/SPD installs, cabinet swaps, modernization work, and new site builds—mostly on Verizon and AT&T projects, with some T-Mobile as well.

I'm hoping to stay somewhere around the Bay Area or possibly Minnesota since I have family there, but I'm open to relocating if the company is solid.

For those of you still in the industry, what companies would you recommend applying to right now? I'm looking for a place with steady work and a good safety culture.

Nwsastudyguide.com

I’ve been doing installation for telecommunications companies for the last 7 years. 2 years ago I started working as an installer at a WISP in rural CO. When I started we had 2 dedicated tower guys that were paid salary and handled all that side of things, but they quit about a year ago.

Since then upper management wanted the techs to be tower climbers as well with 0 training and proper equipment. I always refused but another younger tech offered to take them up on it. There was one day I was “ground support” not sure what I would even do besides call for help if I watched him splatter to his death, when it was -20ish outside and we both felt like we were slowly dying. Then another day I almost watched him actually fall to his death when a bird swopped down and attacked him as he was unclipping on a 400ft tower. Mind you he got no pay raise for doing all of this.

I recently quit because I didn’t like the direction upper management was taking w the company we are losing customers at an all time high rate to Starlink and pay was shitty for our HCOL area, but I can’t help but think something horrible is going to happen to my coworker one day, and his family will have to sue the company for wrongful death or something. I’ve never worked for a wisp before this just wondering if this is kind of common, or if anyone has similar stories.

Was fired(for the first time in my life) for reasons I still don’t really understand, and haven’t been told. I’ve been climbing for nearly 9 years. Have experience in AT&T and Verizon, a bit of T-Mobile. I can troubleshoot, build a full site, stack a tower. Pretty much have experience in all of it. If anyone has any leads, I’d greatly appreciate it. Just trying to provide for my family at this point.

So I’m getting older, can’t really climb as well and my knees and back don’t like it anymore either. I don’t wanna leave the industry and shit though, I’ve tried going to other shit like electrical and contractor work but the same vibe just isn’t there. Honestly they all feel so bitch made and I just don’t get along with people the same as I do my coworkers and other tower guys I’ve met and worked with. Really anyone that works in extreme fields like windmills and rope access, etc. Maybe that’s a shitty way of explaining it but I’m sure others have felt this way too. It’s like when you work with and live with the same crew of guys for weeks and months at a time, other hourly jobs just don’t feel the same. I hate it.

Is there anything yall have found or maybe still in this industry that still makes me miserable and question life decisions every day? Good comradery tho?

Does anyone have any stories to tell?

Would love to hear and see some stories or situations that climbers or others have experienced fraud and ponzi type schemes in the industry…

I’m new to the tower climbing field was just curious as to what to expect.

Whats everyones experience with drug use in tower climbing?

Anyone here have surplus JMA jumpers they are looking to get rid of ? 4.3-10 to 4.3-10. 12FT, 15FT, 20FT, 25FT

Has anyone on here worked with or heard of a climber that goes by the name 'Street"? Worked for Mastec out of the little rock arkansas office for a while.

I tried to switch careers but I got into a fight over using a sledgehammer to close to someone when there was no one around. I live in mn I don’t wanna go back to cell towers I wanna do two way communication stuff…. I can go anywhere in mn if anyone know any companies I have my certs except nwsa

I’ve been working for telecommunication companies for nearly 9 years, and this slow down seems to be different. What is the industry going to do when they have no one to build future sites because they have caused companies to close down during continuous lows? Oh, I know, hire drug addicts. These last couple of years, I’ve been seeing highly experienced telecommunication workers leaving the industry in large numbers because they can’t afford to stay in the ups and downs. On top of that, the pay doesn’t keep up with inflation, and people are getting paid the exact same as they did 10 years ago. Companies like Mastec are hiring contractors from out of state to do local jobs, causing bottlenecks. Leaving local companies to eat the scraps and barely make a profit on underpaid contracts. Now I’m just speaking for the PNW market, and I don’t know what’s happening nationwide, but I have a feeling it’s probably similar. Why would I want to bust my ass for low pay just to not have work for a month after we made the company a good profit? For how cheap people are getting paid, the “just get it done” mentality is getting played out.

I know a lot of people are against unions in this line of work, which I don’t understand why. We could have set ourselves up to offset the corruption and greed at the top levels by going union. Pay a little bit to get paid more and possibly have an actual retirement. Unfortunately, we are so far beyond things getting fixed, and a lot of people can’t stop working because they have families to feed.

Here’s mine

Saw a job opening from Vinco for entry level climbing $74k - $84k a year. I'm considering taking this job once I'm done hs. I'm single and want to travel. How many hours are yall doing? I believe its a salaried position. Thanks, hearing a lot of negatives about the industry, but I'm hoping that maybe its regionally different?

What do y’all actually work on while on top of those things?

I’ve done a bunch of stuff from GA aircraft, commercial HVAC, industrial hydraulics/electromechanical, and much more in between.

Just wondering what all you guys actually fixed and if it’s something I might know how to do already.

I appreciate every helpful comment