How much do cell site network engineers make?

Your terminology is more Telco related versus Wireless.


Field Tech, Cell Site Tech, Wireless Tech are all the same job and basically work on towers and tower related stuff. I have seen Field guys go any were from 12 - 30 bucks an hour. The higher end ones usually have some Union help.

There are so many different engineer. Network, RF Engineer, RF Design Engineer, RF Performance Engineer. Equipment Engineer. Field Engineer, Interconnect Engineer ETC
Many of these have many levels 1,2,3,4,5 or Junior, Associate, Senior or Manager etc.
These I have seen go from 30k and up per year.

Some times they will call Cell Techs (Field Engineers)

Every Company is different and different states can be different. Having a Union can make a difference as well.

 

I'd wager the nationwide average for an "RF Engineer," which could be any of the engineering positions RFG posted would be about $65,000 with some positions paying more and some more naturally.

As for Field Technicians, most are probably around $20/HR if you're carrier employed and $12-20/HR if you're a contractor.

None of these figures are set in stone and will vary greatly by locality.

 

Looking at the pile of bills on my desk and my empty wallet, I'm going to say "NOT ENOUGH!" :O

 

Your not lying there. I jumped the fence to the engineer side and it wasnt what I expected.

 

They've tried a number of times to get me to jump to the engineering side of the house but the lack of job stability and low pay keeps me away.

 

I had to weigh the up and downs before I made the switch.

Field Tech
Pros: Love the hands on and Troubleshooting, windshield time, Sirius radio, OT etc

Cons: 2am wake up call for power outages, filling in for people and driving 4 hours 1 way to get to a tower. New Dispatch system, being told what to fix, hardly no troubleshooting, Soon to be on GPS.

Engineer:

Pros: Troubleshooting system issues, challenging new job, still have drive time due to real expensive gear in my vehicle. Get to keep rocking the Sirius. Telling field techs what to fix.

cons: dealing with CS, No OT, no direct hands on, salary and not the same potential for yearly raises.