# Interested in maybe doing it



## MTW

Do you have a strong back and a weak mind? Then you are perfectly qualified to be a lineman.


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## Robmil81

What do you mean 


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## MTW

Robmil81 said:


> What do you mean


Linework is pure bull work all the time with very little actual thought involved other than the thought required to stay alive while doing extremely hazardous work.


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## Robmil81

Are you a lineman or ever been one? 


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## Robmil81

What is it that you do? 


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## emtnut

MTW said:


> Linework is pure bull work all the time with very little actual thought involved other than the thought required to stay alive while doing extremely hazardous work.


So, kinda like a romex racer ... minus the hazard :vs_laugh:


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## emtnut

Robmil81 said:


> Do you have to travel a lot? I was told I could be months out at a time
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'd say that depends on who you get employment with.

It is a dangerous job, but the pay is better than most electricians make.

If you get on with a local utility, it's often 4 10hr shifts week + oncall.
PLUS .... Everyone is oncall in bad weather.
If you get on a job installing towers, that could be like 'camp' work.

My cousin was a lineman, he did work crazy hours .... and he had all the toys to show for it.

Hang on, a few guys will chime in eventually ... in the meantime, read this thread .... http://www.electriciantalk.com/f7/electrician-linemen-169449/


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## Robmil81

emtnut said:


> I'd say that depends on who you get employment with.
> 
> It is a dangerous job, but the pay is better than most electricians make.
> 
> If you get on with a local utility, it's often 4 10hr shifts week + oncall.
> PLUS .... Everyone is oncall in bad weather.
> If you get on a job installing towers, that could be like 'camp' work.
> 
> My cousin was a lineman, he did work crazy hours .... and he had all the toys to show for it.
> 
> Hang on, a few guys will chime in eventually ... in the meantime, read this thread .... http://www.electriciantalk.com/f7/electrician-linemen-169449/




Thanks for the info, helped a lot!
My problem is we have a big family, and my wife is a full time stay at home mom to 5 kids, I’ve done industrial maintenance and commercial electric and right now I’m just not making what I need to survive, I’m in the IBEW as a CE1, I was thinking maybe lineman cause the awesome money, but I was offered to do low voltage work nurse call, fire alarm, security systems and once I was able to prove I know what I was doing I get my own jobs and truck and blah blah lol so I have 3 things I’m looking into basically staying where I am and hoping to get my JW status or try to become a JL or now become a VDV technician lol 


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## flyboy

Robmil81 said:


> What is it that you do?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


He changes light bulbs in a nursing home in Boston.


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## Southeast Power

Robmil81 said:


> Thanks for the info, helped a lot!
> My problem is we have a big family, and my wife is a full time stay at home mom to 5 kids, I’ve done industrial maintenance and commercial electric and right now I’m just not making what I need to survive, I’m in the IBEW as a CE1, I was thinking maybe lineman cause the awesome money, but I was offered to do low voltage work nurse call, fire alarm, security systems and once I was able to prove I know what I was doing I get my own jobs and truck and blah blah lol so I have 3 things I’m looking into basically staying where I am and hoping to get my JW status or try to become a JL or now become a VDV technician lol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I live in a right to poverty state too. I feel your pain.
We all struggled to get that yellow ticket. We ate lots of 80/20 hamburger and chicken and drove a 10 year old car and had a company service truck.
It made no financial sense for my wife to work outside of the house.
I refused to travel and miss out on my kids growing up. we lived within our means.
If you can be a local lineman, give it a shot but, avoid anything short of that inside wireman ticket when you get older. Line work is a young mans game. Do it for the money but always keep in mind to either get off the poles before you turn 50 or segue into an inside ticket.
If you go the lineman route, you are somewhat of a first responder and will have the responsibility to travel some and help others. You need to do that. It's your job.
Best wishes Brother.


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## Robmil81

Southeast Power said:


> I live in a right to poverty state too. I feel your pain.
> 
> We all struggled to get that yellow ticket. We ate lots of 80/20 hamburger and chicken and drove a 10 year old car and had a company service truck.
> 
> It made no financial sense for my wife to work outside of the house.
> 
> I refused to travel and miss out on my kids growing up. we lived within our means.
> 
> If you can be a local lineman, give it a shot but, avoid anything short of that inside wireman ticket when you get older. Line work is a young mans game. Do it for the money but always keep in mind to either get off the poles before you turn 50 or segue into an inside ticket.
> 
> If you go the lineman route, you are somewhat of a first responder and will have the responsibility to travel some and help others. You need to do that. It's your job.
> 
> Best wishes Brother.




Thanks I really appreciate it man 


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## Robmil81

flyboy said:


> He changes light bulbs in a nursing home in Boston.




Funny stuff 


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## emtnut

Robmil81 said:


> Funny stuff
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


He actually changes Rigid and PVC to SEU for a living, but Flyboy didn't want to make him feel bad :biggrin:


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## bostonPedro

Linework is a young mans game for the most part because its bull work and you have to travel in most instances. You also have to respond to emergencies caused by weather outages. 

I recently went through a safety program to do some work in a train yard and there were quite a few lineman also taking the class because the system is expanding catenary lines for trolleys. Had the pleasure to talk to them when having a smoke and they were all travelers. One left linework to be a safety officer for a company and the others talked of how they had to travel quite a lot and how it was hard on family life. A few were quite honest and said they were divorced because of the traveling. A few said it was because the time away ruined their relationship and a few others said they were to blame because they had nothing to do on the road so they partied and became messes.........not sure why I had such a discussion during an all day safety class so i just listened


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## Robmil81

bostonPedro said:


> Linework is a young mans game for the most part because its bull work and you have to travel in most instances. You also have to respond to emergencies caused by weather outages.
> 
> 
> 
> I recently went through a safety program to do some work in a train yard and there were quite a few lineman also taking the class because the system is expanding catenary lines for trolleys. Had the pleasure to talk to them when having a smoke and they were all travelers. One left linework to be a safety officer for a company and the others talked of how they had to travel quite a lot and how it was hard on family life. A few were quite honest and said they were divorced because of the traveling. A few said it was because the time away ruined their relationship and a few others said they were to blame because they had nothing to do on the road so they partied and became messes.........not sure why I had such a discussion during an all day safety class so i just listened




Yeah me and my wife had talked about it more and don’t think it’s a good thing for our family 


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## bostonPedro

Robmil81 said:


> Yeah me and my wife had talked about it more and don’t think it’s a good thing for our family
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Noticed you are in Kentucky. What is the job picture like at the Amazon complex in Louisville? I would imagine such a facility would have in house electricians.


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## Robmil81

bostonPedro said:


> Noticed you are in Kentucky. What is the job picture like at the Amazon complex in Louisville? I would imagine such a facility would have in house electricians.




Louisville is 2hrs from me, I think the amazon facility is in Lexington though which is about an hour from me, anyways they’re looking for maintenance personal but haven’t heard much about the place 


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## MTW

flyboy said:


> He changes light bulbs in a nursing home in Boston.


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## MDShunk

I spend two of the longest years in my working life doing linework for a national contractor. Mostly storm damage work. After a couple months is was just long, boring, hard work. It was fairly early in my career, and I didn't really know there were better things to do in the trade. I may have stuck with it if the guys I worked around every day weren't so involved in recreational activities that I was unwilling to partake in. It didn't take long to learn that there's a much better way to earn a paycheck, in my opinion.


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## Robmil81

MDShunk said:


> I spend two of the longest years in my working life doing linework for a national contractor. Mostly storm damage work. After a couple months is was just long, boring, hard work. It was fairly early in my career, and I didn't really know there were better things to do in the trade. I may have stuck with it if the guys I worked around every day weren't so involved in recreational activities that I was unwilling to partake in. It didn't take long to learn that there's a much better way to earn a paycheck, in my opinion.




If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do now? 


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## MDShunk

Robmil81 said:


> If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do now?


Make fries at McDonald's. They used to have me on register until those stupid kiosk's took my job. :wink:


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## brian john

I did all low voltage line work setting poles, climbing, stringing triplex about 2 weeks into it I knew this was not for me. Very little challenge, outside all the time, basically assembly line work. 


Some folks thrive on this kind of job just not me. 

If I had a choice I would avoid this line of work but with 5 kids you have an obligation to go where the money is.


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## Robmil81

MDShunk said:


> Make fries at McDonald's. They used to have me on register until those stupid kiosk's took my job. :wink:




Lol something tells me you might not be lying 


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## Robmil81

brian john said:


> I did all low voltage line work setting poles, climbing, stringing triplex about 2 weeks into it I knew this was not for me. Very little challenge, outside all the time, basically assembly line work.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Some folks thrive on this kind of job just not me.
> 
> 
> 
> If I had a choice I would avoid this line of work but with 5 kids you have an obligation to go where the money is.




Yeah that’s true, either way it looks like the money is on the road 


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## merlin199

good luck OP


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## Sberry

All fun,,, for about 2 weeks. Not sure about all the pay scales but of all the outside type jobs I like electric sign installer about the best. Got a quite a bit of variety but the hardest thing about it can be the ladders.


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