Each time he dangles from a cellphone tower 100-300 feet in the air, Joe Poulin is acutely aware that one mistake could send him plummeting to his death.
But like many of the 10,000 other climbers in the U.S. whose job it is to scale cell towers to install antennas and inspect equipment, the 34-year-old construction manager at Alpharetta, Georgia-based Telecommunications Technical Services has become desensitized to the potential near-death experiences that come with the job.
Poulin has been scaling these Statue of Liberty-sized steel giants since 2007 – one year before the director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration called it the “most dangerous job in America.” That promise of danger has long drawn rock climbers to the profession, and, as it did with Poulin, the similarities have lured tower technicians to the sport.
Though his current managerial position keeps him mostly on the ground, Poulin knows the risks these fearless climbers take to make each phone call you make possible.
What kind of people does the job attract? It takes a special type of person to get on a cell tower. You find out pretty quick if it’s something you can do. Not only do you have to get over the fear of climbing the tower, you also have to have some kind of physical ability. Eventually, you get comfortable enough to stop holding onto the steel so tight that you’re bending it. [laughs]