SaskTel employee Jessica Duerr takes her career to new heights

Although Jessica Duerr has only been with SaskTel for a few months, she’s already giving the phrase ‘climbing the corporate ladder’ an entirely new meaning!   As a Project Coordinator with the SaskTel Towers Department, Jessica (and her colleagues) are responsible for the construction and maintenance of SaskTel towers.  

A typical work day often takes place from heights of up to 350 ft. where the views of Saskatchewan landscapes can be spectacular.  For Jessica, it’s quickly become just another day at the office.  But she will never forget her first climb.  

“The first tower I climbed was in Carlyle,” Jessica said.  “It was in August, a week or so after I started, and it was really hot that day, so I think I was sweating before I even started to climb. All I remember is that my co-workers were giving me advice on climbing and they were telling me not to look down.”

“But when climbing the tower for the first time, I was looking down and all around right away.  The perspective is cool, being able to see everything around you from above!”

For safety reasons, Jessica and her co-workers always climb in pairs.  They are all trained in tower rescue and always carry tower rescue gear in their vehicles when they climb.   

They also wear special gear which consists of a harness, positioning belt, double hook lanyards and a trolley.  The towers are equipped with a rail system which they then attach to their harness, which allows them to climb up and down and catch them if they were to slip.

Of course climbing towers is only part of the job for Jessica, who studied Civil Engineering Technology and Environmental Engineering Technology at Saskatchewan Polytechnic (formerly SIAST). 

As a Project Coordinator, she’s also responsible for the installation of electronic equipment on the towers that controls cellular communication throughout the province. 

“Project Coordination in this position takes a project from start to finish,” she said.  “We’re responsible for obtaining approvals, gathering information, assembling the tender documents, tendering the project and project management of construction until completion.”

Jessica has found the job to be especially pleasing to this point. She doesn’t consider the fact that she is believed to be the first female at SaskTel to climb towers to be a big deal.

“With the career path I’ve chosen, I’ve always worked in a more male dominated industry, so to me it’s just another day on the job,” said Jessica.  “I don’t see myself as special, I’ve just been fortunate to be able to follow my career path at SaskTel in the direction I’ve chosen.”

So what advice would Jessica have for her fellow SaskTel employees, especially those who are at the early stages of their careers?
 

“Find something you enjoy!” she said.  “You won’t like every aspect of a job and you will have bad days at work.  The trick is finding a job and workplace that you enjoy going to 85% of the time because life is too short to be unhappy.”

Now that’s a cool perspective!

Want a job climbing towers too?  Building networks or crunching numbers more your thing…..Well we have a job for you!  Check out our Careers section sasktel/careers for current and potential opportunities.