Rachael Hortin does not scare easily no matter what the altitude. In the army she worked on air defense systems that scraped the edge of space with her MOS (Military Occupational Specialty for you civilians) being missiles. To stay ungrounded after her service career ended, Hortin, an admitted adrenaline junkie, picked up skydiving as a hobby. She seemed determined to keep some space between her and terra firma by choosing her next career as a tower climber.
Hortin found Airstreams Renewables when discharging from the Army through SLF TAP and attended their course in Fort Bliss. She said she was recruited by Ericsson during one of their visits to the training center. Following her training with Airstream, Ericsson put her through another two-week training program and she accepted a position with the company that would keep her close to her home state of Utah.
Now two years into her new profession as a tower tech with Ericsson, Hortin said she is enjoying the job and the impression it makes on people. “What I like most is the views,” she said. “Whenever people learn what I do for a living, they think it’s cool and they’re amazed that I work hundreds of feet in the air on a daily basis.”
Hortin is currently working on a Breakfix Team and has done Samsung work throughout the Sprint/TMO merger as it has transitioned into the New T-Mobile. Hortin said she was not mechanically inclined prior to this job but working with fibers came easy to her. She still occasionally travels for the job in her own truck supplied by Ericsson.
When not above the Earth, Hortin likes hanging with her Pomeranian, Jax, and indulging in favorite pastimes of longboarding, baking cookies, and reading (Tim Ferris is her favorite author).
“I’m still getting a feel for the industry,” she said, “I look forward to growing in whatever opportunities lie ahead.”
This article is part of our Climber Chronicle series, sponsored by Viavi Solutions.
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