The light bulbs on the telecommunications towers serve to alert aircraft to their position.
Kevin Schmidt is a professional climber who works to maintain telecommunications towers.
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kevin schmidt He earns 40,000 euros a year and only works two days a year, as it does? Well… changing light bulbs. In the United States there are hundreds of communication towers, which in addition to serving to transmit radio signals, are also a visual indicator for planes that fly over these areas. The towers They can reach 500 meters highand that is why they all have a powerful bulb on top which is the one that alerts the aircraft of its proximity. Those light bulbs can burn out, and that’s where Kevin comes in.
Schmidt is a professional tower climber for VIKOR Teleconstructionand his main task is to scale the gigantic telecommunications towers to change the light bulbs If necessary. The operator is secured with harnesses and climbs these huge structures with the only strength of his arms and legsinto what becomes a really commendable physical test.
A very well paid job, unless you have vertigo
and is very well paidsince Kevin has revealed that charges $20,000 for each climb. The usual thing is to do one every six monthswhich translates to $40,000 a year for two days of work.
But it’s clear that not a job for everyone. The towers that Kevin climbs exceed 450 meters high, and for someone with vertigo it is difficult to think of a more efficient torture. In an interview with the medium Argus Leader in 2015 the climber admits to being very satisfied with his work, and is surprised to discover that his friends consider him crazy:
“Some of my friends can’t believe I dare to do it. They freak out on top of their house.”
Todd Thorin, one of Kevin’s co-workers, decided document on video one of the professional’s tense escalations. Using a drone, he recorded the climbing process from the base to the top of the telecommunications tower. Kevin walk straight up a ladder, and it ensures the grip from time to time by hooking a safety on the steps. Once he reaches the top, he changes the light bulb and takes a moment to appreciate the spectacular views. He even has time to take a selfie, which he later confesses to always sending to his wife.
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