Jobs Like "Remote Field Technician"

Reading the post about the restoration of old war birds reminded me how much in awe I am over the idea of searching for, finding, and retrieving (or fixing) something that is out in the middle of no-where. Whether its fixing cellular towers on tops of mountains, setting up mining camps, or surveying an archaeological dig, I really enjoy the combination of adventure and work.

What other types of jobs are out there that involve this? Where part of the job is fixing something, the other part is just getting to the thing in order to fix it?

I figure that Electrical Linemen probably do a lot of this. I know our company has a few Snowcats for accessing lines in the back country in winter.

Not planning a career switch, just curious.

If it is "entry level" I would do it in a heartbeat. Job search skills is one of my greatest weaknesses.

PHeller wrote: Reading the post about the restoration of old war birds reminded me how much in awe I am over the idea of searching for, finding, and retrieving (or fixing) something that is out in the middle of no-where. Whether its fixing cellular towers on tops of mountains, setting up mining camps, or surveying an archaeological dig, I really enjoy the combination of adventure and work. What other types of jobs are out there that involve this? Where part of the job is fixing something, the other part is just getting to the thing in order to fix it? I figure that Electrical Linemen probably do a lot of this. I know our company has a few Snowcats for accessing lines in the back country in winter. Not planning a career switch, just curious.

I did five years in the Nigerian swamps doing seismic surveys. They had a bunch of tech jobs ranging from mechanic to IT stuff. It had its moments.

As a guy who sits in front of a computer all day, I can see the appeal. But then I remember my time working on a survey crew when I was in college, dealing with the extremes of Michigan weather, and I think, maybe an office job isn't so bad.

Well, I used to fix copiers, and you wouldn't think getting to them would be difficult, but there were certainly times. Not a career I'd recommend to anyone though, there's not much future in that industry.

being a stage hand has it's moments.. especially if you do a lot of festivals

I use to have to chase locomotives on occasion. Most of the work was shop work but occasionally we would load up the truck and head out to the field.

Turbine repair and installation for wind farms are another one that is growing and falls into that category.

My father in law works at a remote lead, silver, and gold mine near Juneau, AK. Two weeks on, two weeks off, plus a couple weeks vacation, company pays for room and board while in camp and a stipend towards airfare. He loves it, and if I were single or thought I could handle the away time I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Lineman is only one of four trades I have in the field every week, the other three are substation electricians, meter and relay technicians, and comm equipment technicians. Those guys all see a lot of windshield time and get called out to fix stuff in the middle of nowhere.

oldopelguy wrote: Lineman is only one of four trades I have in the field every week, the other three are substation electricians, meter and relay technicians, and comm equipment technicians. Those guys all see a lot of windshield time and get called out to fix stuff in the middle of nowhere.

After reading this response and glancing at your username, I read it as 'old pole guy'

Stack testing does a surprising amount of this. The testing ports are way up on the stacks of power plants and the like.

Earlier in my career as a geotechnical engineer, I spent a lot of time in remote swamps and far away mountain roads across the South and mid-Atlantic. Looking at aerial photography and trying to figure out how to get a 26,000lb drill rig on the side of the mountain to drill borings. Now, I spend most of my time in the office and I'm fine with that. It was fun when I was single, but now the thought of working 12-16 hours and sleeping in a hotel doesn't appeal to me anymore. I still have employees that do this on a daily basis, however.

I'd say anything with "geo" in the title will have the likelyhood of adventure/work.

Our IT Director is leaving at the end of the month. Apparently his drone business is growing rapidly. One of his jobs is inspecting cell towers. Much cheaper to pay him to fly around the tower with a camera than to have someone climb. Nice niche to get into.

trucke wrote: Our IT Director is leaving at the end of the month. Apparently his drone business is growing rapidly. One of his jobs is inspecting cell towers. Much cheaper to pay him to fly around the tower with a camera than to have someone climb. Nice niche to get into.

In the same vein, if someone want a business idea, design a machine that clamps around a windmill pylon and scrubs and/or paints as it climbs the structure. There are many thousands of these windmills that are going to need maintenance in the next ten years for both structural and aesthetic reasons.

An buddy of mine had a job picking up weather balloons when they dropped back down to earth.

He would be given lat and long coordinates and had to go fetch them wherever it was.Usually a ranch in the middle of Texas. Had some good stories to tell and meet some ranch owners that would let him hunt in their property.