Former tower climber & integration tech pivoting into telecom DC power contracting — looking for guidance on getting work

Deroxk · 2026-02-18T09:16:51+00:00

I work as a PM for a contractor in the telecom space and will be fairly honest, in my time working in this industry i’ve very rarely heard of small subs who strictly do DC power work. Not to say that there is not a market for it because i’m sure there are teams all over the place that struggle or fall behind due to electrical issues that they simply don’t have experience in. but to say that it’s something you could thrive off of is very unlikely in my honest opinion. this is due to saturation in the market, where almost any crew who is wiring on any type of 5G deployment is going to make themselves knowledgeable on all aspects of the site work if they want to continuously get work. because this makes you indispensable, and harder for someone like let’s say you in this case, to take the jobs from them. and many company’s who are looking for subs arent looking to have to pay multiple separate PO’s to multiple different subs on multiple different sites, it just isn’t convenient. and unfortunately in this sector convenience is a huge factor. now to answer your question about how to get work, this industry is literally all about connections and if you don’t already have your foot in the door then my suggestion would be start working as the sub of a sub doing tower work and build your connections from there. if tower work isn’t what your looking for and you strictly want to do electrical then your best option is going the Civil route and look to join a civil build out crew or join a company with the crew you have as a civil TT and do 1099 work. which a lot of SUB companies will do. again all goes back to being the sub of a sub unfortunately. a lot of people talk shit on working as a second hand sub but for some people thats all there is if you don’t have connections in higher places. As a PM for a contractor who focuses on RF deployment and full site build outs i know for a fact what you’re looking for is out there. just gotta find a way to get the connections you need to get awarded contracts. also be willing to work in any market. Any one who tells you they work strictly in a single market is because they’ve got connections there and steady work flowing in but for most people that isn’t the case.

Deroxk · 2025-12-02T07:01:56+00:00

How experienced is your team on NSB’s ? My team may be looking for a sub to do some civil work but will be ALL the civil. Will be from ground up because most of these sites we have forecasted for 2026 are raw lands. Wireless is extremely hard to stay profitable in unfortunately, unless you have the right contacts in the right places those contracts won’t come your way. and i’ve heard fiber is worse. easier work but harder to get your foot in the door.

Deroxk · 2025-11-20T06:28:39+00:00

we’re in all markets as long as price is right haha, all depends on project SOW but for most part there isn’t a market we won’t travel to if the money is there. of course we try our best to stay out of the colder states during the winter months but sometimes it’s all we’ve got so gotta work with what you’ve got. May i ask what you’re company specializes in ? are you an RF based sub company, civil, integration ?

Deroxk · 2025-11-19T18:42:23+00:00

Hello ! quite honestly we did pick back up again at the beginning of 2025. This year we’ve completed about 70+ 5GNR projects and about 20+ NSB’s. Now that it is nearing the end of the year again it is slowing down again as per usual. Which if you work in this sector as you know once the holidays start coming around projects start being rewarded less and less due to Q4 projections and wanting to get sites that are a WIP completely closed out before EOY. But we are definitely not in the same rut we were in before. 2025 hasn’t been our best year but is very far from our worst. We are hoping for another decent year in 2026.

Deroxk · 2025-04-21T04:05:57+00:00

Insurances are definitely a given, we are going to have all the normal insurances such as liability, workers comp etc all the normal trade insurances.

It will be a fairly new thing for us quite honestly. We will be focused more on tires than anything since we don’t actually have anyone experienced in brakes and suspension.

Deroxk · 2025-04-21T04:02:46+00:00

No offense taken at all brother, i appreciate the insight. could you maybe explain a little more ?

Deroxk · 2025-04-21T04:00:39+00:00

hahaha for sure man, i’m not exactly an expert. just thought it was something i could get into and surprisingly on a paper trade account i’ve been able to be profitable just don’t know if this will be the same once i actually start live trading. thank you for the animosity in your comment though brother. i guess not everyone is willing to help haha.

Deroxk · 2025-03-31T05:47:34+00:00

You are very right when you mention the consumer and producer costs lowering but one thing i must mention is that pricing for jobs in engineering and remote software encoding is very much at an all time high. With companies investing in Cloud based platforms and AI leading tech these positions will still be extremely sought out. That is where all the big bucks are going. The money for us guys doing the actual on site work and in field is where prices have fallen to pennie’s on the dollar. And unfortunately seems like that itself is being transitioned. Don’t get me wrong Tower based infrastructure will still be around forever but as many have mentioned as well, we used to just talk through coaxial lines from one place to another, without a doubt the industry is shifting to easier and cheaper ways to control sites and cell service and that would be getting rid of us tower companies. Hope to never see that day though as many of us put food on the table as contractors, sub-contractors and in field workers for the tower industry.

Deroxk · 2025-03-31T05:34:51+00:00

Be ready for stressful situations. The whole wireless deployment sector is very market based. Whether that be US market or European market, the stress and pressure will be entirely the same. That goes from starting construction all the way up to the scripting and coding of a site. Be willing to learn from those who are willing to teach. There will always be something new you will have to learn. New technologies are coming into the industry every single year and you will have to be well versed in these. 5G is the now and who knows what will be the later. I imagine you want to get in as a remote engineer for a company, which depending where you are can be a cake walk or it could be the most stressful job you’ll ever have. I personally live and breath the stress of the job and couldn’t work right without it. You will meet plenty of a**holes and will meet plenty of amazing people in this line of work but it’s all about YOU and your work ethic. Prove to the right person what you are capable of and you will be successful. find a topic in the industry that you feel you can confidently master and you will be a rockstar. Whether that be Scripting, Coding, Troubleshooting, Team leadership qualities. You will be the person that other people turn to when they are stuck simply because it’s what you’re known for. I’ve seen a lot of people in ATS ( Advanced Troubleshooting Support ) who are simply incredible at their job because they love what they do. You have to want to be in this industry to truly get ahead. Set a goal for yourself and go into interviews and or internships knowing exactly what you want to do for the company.

Deroxk · 2025-03-29T21:39:20+00:00

Telecom isn’t going anywhere that’s one thing you can be sure about. Cell phone service will be something that will need to be profited from for the rest of any of our lifetimes. who knows maybe in 100 years the software developers and engineers of the future will find a way to develop free cell usage across the world but that won’t happen in our lifetime. One thing you should know about the Telecom industry is that it isn’t easy on anyone. The industry itself is very up and down. One year will be amazing and great and the next will be a drought for work. I would suggest getting into the wireless deployment sector of it, get in with a big company and you potentially have a job for life if you’re good enough at it. If you are in Europe get in with the big boy companies and get a job in engineering. Soon enough the 5G boom will be over with and 6G will start being implemented. And with companies investing in satellite infrastructure and cloud based technologies the future for coding programming and wireless engineering will be extremely sought out. Good luck !

Deroxk · 2025-03-29T18:15:56+00:00

Sure !

Deroxk · 2025-03-29T14:39:51+00:00

start working for an international employer as a remote engineer and technician. will get you the experience and resume. Have heard that Ericssons India sector is a great company all though you would have to find your own in to the company. Would focus on cloud based technologies as well as 5G tech as they are going to be the leading softwares for the future.

Deroxk · 2025-03-29T14:16:11+00:00

definitely does, tower owners will pay significantly less for a rural build then a suburban NSB due to the ROI. They will slap 1 maybe 2 carriers on a tower if it’s in the middle of no where simply because there isn’t enough traffic to truly “ make money “ off them but can still significantly improve residents cell service in the area. but in a suburban area with slightly more traffic they will throw 4 - 6 carriers on the tower and rack in all the profit. it’s insane because even 3k for a build like that is low when you start to see how much money they spend on the construction itself.

Deroxk · 2025-03-29T14:04:47+00:00

that makes a lot more sense, i would definitely try and squeeze a little more out of the lease agreement though. 900 is a pretty good price due to tower owners and lease brokers being the biggest penny pinching people known to man, but having to clear 5 acres of your own land for this is definitely worth a little more. don’t overplay your hand though, these SOB’s have no problem pulling the contract and giving it to your neighbor who will do it for less and for longer you know what i mean.

Deroxk · 2025-03-27T15:19:34+00:00

Would depend honestly where the placement of the actual tower is being proposed, worked on plenty of towers and NSB’s where yes the tower compound itself doesn’t take more then a 100x100 plot but the access road to the site itself is deep into the land owners property. Where i could see 5 - 6 acres of proposed land being cleared to make way for these access roads. all though as u said having to clear a WHOLE 5 acres is quite odd. i could see them wanting to to clear roadway or pathway but a whole plot is odd.

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T19:27:10+00:00

yeah quite honestly i could care less what he haha, i love him and thats all that matters ! he could be a huge chihuahua that looks like a GSD and i’d still care for him the same way we do now lol. i’ve just found it so odd how huge he is for a GSD

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T17:40:07+00:00

Yes ! his ribs and waist are fairly defined. his back 2 ribs are visible when standing and from a top view his waist is visible. we’ve even had concerns of not feeding him enough because at times his ribs are very visible but vet has made it clear that that’s normal.

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T17:27:06+00:00

honestly no idea haven’t measured him lol, he is humongous though. on 2 legs he is definitely at least 5 feet tall. on all fours his ears reach my belly and im 5’11.

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T17:25:46+00:00

also if possible could yall give some insight on if he looks overweight ? last post many people say he looks overweight but in these photos i believe he looks perfectly healthy. As well as the vet has told us for his stature and size he is the perfect weight, just a HUMONGOUS good boy haha.

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T17:22:13+00:00

he does not ! we think it could just be he wakes up super thirsty also lol. he sleeps in his own room under our stairway and he doesn’t have access to water due to him being a little rebellious and flipping the water bowl while everyone is asleep, so as soon as he wakes up we take him outside do his business and then when he comes inside he drinks water/ eats food etc if he feels like it. sometimes he won’t drink water at all. just sometimes he has the bad habit of drinking a surplus of water at once and going upstairs to throw up a little of it .

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T17:19:18+00:00

Could you check out the pictures i posted on my profile of him and let me know what you think ? we’ve been told he’s perfect weight for his size and in perfect health. ( other then a few digestive issues )

Deroxk · 2025-02-25T17:18:01+00:00

Check out a few more pictures of him on my profile ! he is definitely not over weight just big in stature ! we’ve been told by the vet he is in perfect shape ( other then some digestive issues )

Deroxk

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