Jobs Working At Extreme Heights, Get High For A Living.

What if you could have a job where you got high everyday? No, not by taking drugs but from the adrenaline rush that comes from working up to several hundred feet above the ground.

Wind Turbine Climbers

One such job, for which the demand is growing daily, is that of a technician in the wind energy industry. Wind turbines require skilled riggers during the construction phase and also skilled climber - technicians, who maintain them once they are up and operational.

One school that has an excellent training program in both wind turbine repair and tower climbing is Mesalands Community College in New Mexico. If you don't have a fear of heights you can make up to $25.00 an hour as a tower maintenance technician. (That includes pay for high altitude work, since your pay per hour usually goes up when you do.)

Oil Rig Derrick Man

Another great job where you can get high everyday is that of an oilfield derrickman. All fun aside, none of these jobs are for those who do drugs. All safety - sensitive climbing jobs involve frequent drug testing.

A derrickman or derrick man on an oil rig works at a spot about three quarters of the way up on the derrick or tower of a drilling rig, and stands on a small area called the monkeyboard. There they rack the joints of pipe that are being removed from the well, or place them in the elevators, or a device that holds the pipe to be lowered into the hole.

The job of a derrickman is backbreaking work, since some joints of drill pipe weigh over a thousand pounds each. The derrick man stays up there, racking pipe, until the "trip" or journey to the bottom of the well is completed. It helps to have a large bladder since there are few chances for bathroom breaks!

The temperatures in the winter up at the top of an oil derrick can be sub - zero, and over one hundred degrees in the summer. On the positive side, there will often be a breeze in blowing up in the derrick when the roughnecks down below on the rig floor are sweltering. Another positive aspect of the job of an oil rig derrick man, is that the view from up so high is often incredible.

Lightning storms and high winds can make the job of an oil rig derrick man interesting, to say the least. To train to become a derrick man, you will most likely need to get hired on first as a roustabout, or entry level oil rig worker,, then "work your way up the ladder" so to speak.

The outlook for oil rig derrick man jobs is currently good. The oil and gas drilling industry is recovering from a severe slump, and companies such as Patterson Drilling and Nabors are hiring. Check the classified sections and sites like Texasoilfieldjob.com for derrick man job listings.

Communications Tower Climber.

There aren't as many cell phone tower climber jobs as there once were at the dawn of the cellular age, when towers were going up all over the country, but there are still openings for communications tower climbers. Tower climbers must pass a type certification known as the Competent Climber course, which teaches OSHA, FAA and other rules as well as safe climbing methods. Tower climbers are also highly skilled electronics technicians. This is their primary role, and climbing is just part of the job. The outlook for tower climbers is fairly good as the economy recovers and companies such as AT&T install more 4G towers. Courses in communications technology and apprenticeships with cellular companies such as Verizon are a good way to get into tower climbing. The salary per hour may be at the normal technician's rate when working on equipment on the ground and include a climbing bonus when you go up above six feet high.

Jobs where you can get high above the rest of the world are not for everybody. With the freedom and thrill of working up high also comes the element of danger. With good safety practices and proper climbing gear, most of the dangers associated with tower climbing jobs can be overcome. Tower climbing jobs are not for everyone, but they just might be for you if you love a challenge.