---
title: "Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installer and Repairer"
description: "Repair, install, or maintain mobile or stationary radio transmitting, broadcasting, and receiving equipment, and two-way radio communications systems…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/radio-cellular-and-tower-equipment-installer-and-repairer"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installer and Repairer

**Category:** Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · **SOC code:** 49-2021 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 49-2021.00

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. May test and analyze network coverage.

Also advertised as: Communications Systems Technician; Field Service Technician (Field Service Tech); Field Technician (Field Tech); Installation Technician (Installation Tech); Radio Frequency Technician (RF Tech); Radio Repairman; Radio Technician (Radio Tech); Tower Technician (Tower Tech).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $63,520 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $30.54/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $44,460 to $103,990, with the middle half between $50,580 and $82,370
- **Total US employment:** 11,140
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +1.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,000 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 62/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 11,140 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $44,460 |
| 25th | $50,580 |
| 50th (median) | $63,520 |
| 75th | $82,370 |
| 90th | $103,990 |
| Mean (average) | $69,870 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ID | $107,250 | $112,311 | Not published by BLS |
| PA | $103,010 | $105,573 | 240 |
| CT | $100,890 | $97,375 | Not published by BLS |
| MD | $100,800 | $96,038 | 370 |
| AZ | $95,040 | $94,401 | 100 |
| NY | $81,070 | $75,120 | 420 |
| NV | $79,380 | $79,397 | 60 |
| AK | $79,050 | $77,228 | 50 |
| WA | $79,020 | $73,841 | 240 |
| SC | $78,250 | $83,468 | 40 |
| TX | $77,910 | $80,272 | 830 |
| MN | $76,960 | $78,036 | 80 |
| NJ | $75,930 | $69,785 | 590 |
| OH | $72,160 | $77,780 | 370 |
| VA | $67,790 | $67,050 | 660 |

30 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 45 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/radio-cellular-and-tower-equipment-installer-and-repairer/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/radio-cellular-and-tower-equipment-installer-and-repairer.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 11,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 11,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 100 jobs, or +1.2%. Slower than average: 1.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,000 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 30.7% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 21.7% |
| Some College Courses | 18.0% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 15.7% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 9.8% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 4.2% |

## What the work involves

- Run appropriate power, ground, or coaxial cables.
- Bolt equipment into place, using hand or power tools.
- 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.
- Replace existing antennas with new antennas as directed.
- Read work orders, blueprints, plans, datasheets or site drawings to determine work to be done.
- Transport equipment to work sites, using utility trucks and equipment trailers.
- Take site survey photos or photos of work performed, using digital cameras.
- Install all necessary transmission equipment components, including antennas or antenna mounts, surge arrestors, transmission lines, connectors, or tower-mounted amplifiers (TMAs).

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Repairing — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Installation — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Telecommunications — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Information Ordering — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.73 |
| C — Conventional | 4.53 |
| I — Investigative | 3.48 |
| S — Social | 1.37 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.36 |
| A — Artistic | 1.05 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 92.2 |
| ISTP | 80.2 |
| ISFJ | 74.0 |
| ESTJ | 72.7 |
| INTJ | 71.2 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Telecommunications Equipment Installer and Repairer, Except Line Installers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/telecommunications-equipment-installer-and-repairer) — median $63,890
- [Telecommunications Line Installer and Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/telecommunications-line-installer-and-repairer) — median $74,330
- [Audiovisual Equipment Installer and Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/audiovisual-equipment-installer-and-repairer) — median $52,600
- [Electrical and Electronics Repairer, Commercial and Industrial Equipment](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-repairer-commercial-and-industrial-equipment) — median $74,090
- [Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radio-frequency-identification-device-specialist) — median $130,220
- [Electrical and Electronics Installer and Repairer, Transportation Equipment](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-installer-and-repairer-transportation-equipment) — median $84,890
- [Avionics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/avionics-technician) — median $82,280
- [Electronic Equipment Installer and Repairer, Motor Vehicles](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electronic-equipment-installer-and-repairer-motor-vehicles) — median $48,420
- [Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $78,190
- [Power Distributor and Dispatcher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/power-distributor-and-dispatcher) — median $106,730

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/radio-cellular-and-tower-equipment-installer-and-repairer