JoeW

I am just curious and had some questions.

How does one become a linemen?

Do you just become a journeymen electrician and then apply at the power company?

Or do you just look for an opening and apply and they train you?

Is there a license involved with being a linemen?

I would be particularly interested if there is anyone on here that works in Massachusetts on here (that is where I am from) specifically working for NStar that could shine some light on the local aspect.

Any info would be great though. Thanks in advance.

randomkiller

In my area they take in applicants and teach them at their own facilites. Call your local poco HR office and see what they have to say.

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micromind

Pretty much the same way around here. The POCO has its own apprenticeship program, and its own license. They pay for your training, and pay you to work for them.

Very similar to inside wireman apprenticeships.

Rob

Celtic

There is only 1 IBEW outside construction local in MA: LU 104.

IBEW Local Union 104

Here is 104's website.


This is NOT to say the Power Companys [POCO] do not have their own linemen.

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pudge565

In my area (Berks County, Pennsylvania) MET-ED has a program through the local Community College. If you get into the program you are guaranteed a position with MET-ED. They also pay for all books and give an allowance for you PPE plus they pay for the whole course. It is 2 years long 4 semesters. This is what I plan on doing as a career. If I can't for some reason though I will turn to my firefighter and EMS training to get a career in one of those fields.

NiCkE803

You can join IBEW LU 1249 that's the lineman union in nys they are located in Syracuse NY

brian john

You flunk out of REAL electricians school and there are no options left.

den

around our area, the poco will only hire certified lineman or apprectices coming out of line school. The old co I worked for would hire summer help and if they worked out, they would help with line school if they would come back to work for a time period. Most of the younger guys just stayed on long enough to get a lineman rating and then moved on to better pay unless they were from here.

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McCaa

http://www.lineman.edu/programs/elec...r-program.aspx

This school has turned out some good beginner lineman if you don't want to go Union. My buddy went through this school 3 years ago, immediately after graduation, got on with a local electrical contractor and now makes $34 an hour locally. It may not be for everyone but it worked well for him.

Mikeomo

That may be, but here in AZ the linemen for APS (Power Company) are making a lot more $$$ than we are!

Zog

hazard pay

Frasbee

$hit, they can keep that money, I sure as hell aren't gonna be climbing up any poles, or sitting in a bucket in the middle of a storm in the middle of the night.

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Peter D

Do you have a strong back and a weak mind? Good..then you are qualified to be a lineman!

MDShunk

People have described linemen as "Assemblers who work at 40-60 feet in the air". Hardly what I'd call electrical work. More like putting together a big-boys erector set with the same set of parts all the time.

The most intelligent linemen are the one's called "trouble men", and they normally drive a smaller bucket truck and respond to smaller and single building outages. Some other more cerebral lineman-type jobs are the substation electrician and the meter technician.

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Peter D

In my somewhat limited dealings with trouble men, I have found they are not very intelligent either.

MDShunk

Well, let's call them, "the best of the worst", then.

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Peter D

Haha! That works.

brian john

And near cities and in residential areas linemen spend more time in a ditch slugging mud then they do on a pole or in a bucket truck.

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