Electrical power-line installer and repairer

National median pay

$95,320

per year · $45.83 per hour

May 2025

Projected employment change

+10%

2025–35

Much faster than average

Jobs in the United States

131,900

Projected openings each year: 10,900

Typical entry-level education

High school diploma or equivalent

On-the-job training

Long-term on-the-job training

What the occupation does

This is the work that keeps the lights on. Lineworkers string cable between poles and towers, set poles, install transformers and switches, and restore power after storms. The job is unusual in that it is genuinely dangerous and genuinely well paid: you are working with high-voltage electricity, often at height, sometimes in bad weather, and occasionally in the middle of the night when a storm has taken out a neighbourhood. Safety practice is not paperwork in this trade, it is the whole job.

Common daily responsibilities

• Install, maintain, and repair the lines that move electricity.
• String cable and wire between poles, towers, and buildings.
• Erect poles and transmission towers, sometimes using truck-mounted augers and cranes.
• Identify and replace defective transformers, voltage regulators, switches, and insulators.
• Inspect and test lines and auxiliary equipment, including by climbing and by bucket truck.
• Work from outage reports, aerial inspections, and customer calls to find faults.
• Restore service after storms, often on extended shifts.
• Follow strict electrical safety rules, including grounding and clearance procedures.

Typical work environments

• Outdoors in every kind of weather, at height on poles and towers.
• Bucket trucks and line trucks, working above traffic and sometimes above live conductors.
• Transmission crews that travel regionally and stay away from home for stretches.
• Storm restoration, which means long hours and travel at short notice.
• Substations and utility yards, on equipment rather than on lines.

Skills and abilities needed

• Absolute reliability about safety rules, because the margin for error is zero.
• Physical fitness and no fear of heights: the work involves climbing and working aloft.
• Comfort working in heat, cold, rain, and darkness.
• Mechanical and electrical aptitude, and the ability to learn rigging and knots properly.
• Teamwork and clear communication, because the work is done in crews and often at a distance.
• Willingness to be on call and to travel when storms hit.

Ways to enter the occupation

• Registered apprenticeship

  The standard route into the trade, usually run by a utility or by a union. It combines paid on-the-job training with structured classroom instruction, and it is the route that leads to journeyman lineman status.

  Typical duration: Usually 3 to 4 years

• Groundman or helper entry

  Many people start as a groundman on a line crew, handling materials and learning the work from the ground, and enter the apprenticeship when a place opens.

  Typical duration: Varies before apprenticeship entry

• Utility pre-apprenticeship programme

  Some utilities and community colleges run short pre-apprenticeship programmes covering safety, climbing basics, and electrical fundamentals, which improve your chances of being selected.

  Typical duration: Weeks to a few months

• Military training

  Electrical and construction specialties in the armed forces can translate into linework experience. Ask about credential mapping before you separate.

  Typical duration: Varies

How long training takes

A registered apprenticeship usually runs about three to four years, paid throughout. It is not a course you complete first and then apply for work: you are hired onto a crew and the training happens on the job, with classroom blocks alongside. Because the work is weather-dependent and safety-critical, progress is measured in hours and competencies signed off rather than in terms passed.

Licensing and certification

Linework is generally not licensed by states as an occupation in the way electrical contracting is. What governs entry is the apprenticeship and the employer's own qualification process, and journeyman status is normally a trade credential rather than a state licence. A commercial driver's licence is frequently required because lineworkers drive heavy trucks, and separate qualifications apply to specific tasks such as working on energized conductors or operating certain equipment.

This describes the general pattern. It is not a statement about the rules in your state, and nothing here means a trade is licensed nationwide.

Do requirements differ by state?

The occupational licence itself varies less than in the licensed construction trades, because most linework qualification runs through apprenticeships and employers. What does vary by state is the commercial driver's licence and any endorsements, and the specific utility regulations and safety standards the work is performed under. Utilities themselves are regulated state by state, so the employer you work for and its rules differ more than the trade does.

How to find a legitimate program

Linework apprenticeships are usually run by utilities and unions rather than sold by schools, so the place to start is the utility itself and Apprenticeship.gov. Be careful of private 'lineman schools' that charge substantial tuition: some are legitimate and improve your chances, and some simply take your money. Ask any programme for the proportion of graduates who actually enter a utility or contractor apprenticeship, and ask to speak to one.

Career advancement

• Journeyman lineman, which is the recognised skilled level and carries the pay that goes with it.
• Crew leader or foreman, running a line crew.
• Specialisation in transmission, substation work, underground distribution, or high-voltage testing.
• Troubleshooter or switching specialist, dealing with the most complex faults.
• Supervisor, safety officer, or training instructor within a utility.

Self-employment

Self-employment is uncommon in this trade. The work is almost always performed for a utility or a utility contractor under the utility's procedures and safety rules, and the equipment needed to work independently is not something an individual buys. Line contractors do exist as businesses, but they are substantial operations rather than one-person shops.

Self-employment usually brings its own requirements on top of the trade itself, such as a business registration, a contractor licence, insurance, or a bond. Those are separate from the occupational licence and are set by your state.

Related occupations

• Electrician
• Electrical and electronic engineering technologist and technician
• Water and wastewater treatment plant operator
• Industrial machinery mechanic, maintenance worker, and millwright

Official resources and next steps

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook

  The federal source for the pay, education, and employment projections shown on this page.

• Apprenticeship.gov — U.S. Department of Labor

  The official register of registered apprenticeship programmes. Search by trade and by state, and confirm that a programme is registered before you trust it.

• CareerOneStop — U.S. Department of Labor

  Official wage data for your own area, local training listings, and the American Job Center nearest you.

• O*NET OnLine — U.S. Department of Labor

  A detailed breakdown of the tasks, tools, and knowledge each occupation actually involves, maintained by the Department of Labor.

• U.S. Department of Labor

  Federal rules on wages, safety, and training, and the starting point for finding the state agency that governs a trade.