Anybody work as a lineman?

Career change coming up for me. I will be going to the lineman school out in Boise, ID starting June 22.
Would like to hear from some guys that are in the trade and hear how jobs and benefits are, especially starting out with the apprenticeship process. Feel free to send a PM if you’d like.

Thanks!

I believe @mndrifter is, or was a lineman.

He might be out fishing now, hopefully he checks back in and can answer or give you some bits.

My older brother was a journeyman lineman for many years,over twenty at least and regrets ever doing it,bad knees,hips and back plague him now but back then bucket trucks werent as common as they are today.
The pay and bennies were great and good thing too as they are paying for his medical needs now.

He was called out on every storm outage here at all hours of the night and of course the occasional owl or squirrel that decided get into the wrong place.
It never failed about the time he had a family get together or we were out fishing he would get called and have to fix a utility pole that someone hit during an accident.
in our hometown there were six lineman and they split the weekends on call.

If I were young again and wanted to work for a utility company I would want the job of inspecting power lines from a helicopter,then of course there is the issue of tagging onto the line !! still would be neat to do though.

I know guys that are linemen and they echo Iowa’s statements; good pay, but lousy hours.

I haven’t done it but would think if you just approached it as a normal job it might be tough on you. However if you went in as a vehicle to a fast retirement it might work out.
Learn the trade and hit all the disaster / emergency hours available, pocket that money and aim for a early retirement. It would raise hell on family life if married with kids but…. You can’t retire early in life unless you have a way of piling up cash.

For the county?

tim hurley wrote:

For the county?

According to Glen Campbell thats the place to be.

Dutchboy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tim hurley wrote:</div>
For the county?

According to Glen Campbell thats the place to be.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

I believe @mndrifter is, or was a lineman.

He might be out fishing now, hopefully he checks back in and can answer or give you some bits.

Yes I was out fishing all weekend… Only caught 1 small northern, and my sons IPhone 6. Reeled it up via a marcum camera, and jigging rap in 20’ of water.

I work for a large public utilities company that does natural gas and electric. I am kind of like a lineman, but for gas. I do work/converse and I’m in the same union with the electric lineman. It is a very good profession in my opinion. Great pay, benefits etc. I did not do the electric apprenticeship, but heard about some of it. It seams that some of the big companies, mine included does very little “hot” work. So to get your “hot hours” you need to go to work for the storm chasers, or transmission construction companies first. Lots of traveling at first. It might not be that bad for a young man, but probably not as good for a guy with a wife, and/or kids. Once your 1/2 way or so through apprenticeship the bigger utility companies that don’t do much “hot work” will hire you as an advance step apprentice. Then you can put down roots and life is a little more stable, but can be crazy hours. But crazy paychecks follow, lol. Now days it’s SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY. If your working for a respectable company, every focus is on safety. So your body will not be as broken at the end of your career if you make your focus safety as well. I would touch base with a union. I’m partial to my local, IBEW local 160 in St Anthony MN. They have an apprenticeship program. Good luck with your career. If you have specific questions, let me know.

MNdrifter wrote:

Yes I was out fishing all weekend… Only caught 1 small northern, and my sons IPhone 6. Reeled it up via a marcum camera, and jigging rap in 20’ of water.

I figured you might have been out getting after it.

Thanks for responding here, I gathered that you had “been there before”

Oh, funny…another friends daughter dropped her phone down 30′ on a Mille Lacs flat. Gone…

I’ve tossed this out a couple times on this forum before, it floats the phone but the primary failsafe is the tether you can wear as a neckless or just clip to you jacket or belt loop. For the kids ya know.

Those kids… lol

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I have several friends who are lineman. A couple work for Exel energy and work a typical 40 hour week. The others move around with the work. One is in California now and the other in Texas. They follow the storms too and put in long hours while they are there and then take a few weeks off when they get back.

They all went through the Missouri Valley program.

Fife wrote:

They all went through the Missouri Valley program.

This is the IBEW 160 apprenticeship program. Looks like they are accepting applications February 20-21.

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My ex stepson is a master doing solar fields in Pennsylvania, making a base of 200k per year along with $135 per day diem. He works 12hrs a day, 7 days a week, while living in his paid trailer. His wish is to retire at 45, hes now 30.

one of my best friends is a lineman. Took him 10 years of working transmission construction and some random co-op internships before he hired on with the local co-op. He mentioned at the co-op level there’s a lot of nepotism. He’s sitting good now though. Good pay, good hours, fair on-call rotations.

I was never a powerlineman. I worked as a communication lineman and saved eleven thousand cash to go to power school and life took a poop on me and I never made it. It sucks. For three years I saved every dime and lived in a shithole room so I could save the money and be a electric lineman. My family was a bunch of flower shmucks, they didn’t want their kid moving off somewhere and making killer money and starting a life. So I had no support or help from anyone. I mean no one. Not one person. I spend my days broke as hell and went thru severe depression and drug use because not one single asshole was behind me. And I lost my chance to be a lineman. Something I could be proud of. My dad was a preacher sissyboy, so he wasn’t any help. That’s the last thing he wanted hisnsonnto be, one of those guys who may lose his life to bring people power. I will say, do it. It’s rewarding and you get payed. You’ll never have to wonder how you’ll pay the bills and such. And, there’s just a sense of accomplishment whether you work in the bucket or climb a pole. I can only imagine working power. I never made it that far. Do it just do it. Don’t take shortcuts to save time though. Even doing communication linework I burned a span of strand in half trying to o save time. It rose into the secondary. Luckily no one was hurt. I can only say when yu think you should do something but a little voice says ” that’s gonna take more time” , don’t listen to the little voice that says cut a corner to save some time.

Welcome to IDO Jonathon.I hope you can turn things around if you have not done it i would do it.

That was a lot to take in. Best of luck Jonathan

I worked for Bell Canada in North Western Ontario, did it all. Hanging off poles in -40 and in rain,sleet snow whatever. It can be tough work for sure but i would not have traded it for much. Ya i got bad shoulders,elbows and back but so do my buddies that worked in factories.