# Career switch



## Manny Allegro (8 mo ago)

Hi fellas , 

I'm an odd duck . I won't lie . I'm a psychiatric nurse , and a third year electrician . I'm old too . 44 and got two kids under 7 . Maybe I'm having a mid life crisis , but find myself wishing I was a lineman instead . Been a full time psych nurse for the past six years , and before that was in oil and gas in the trade doing industrial construction . I'd appreciate very much anyone doing line work to shed light on whether this is a crazy idea . I m curious if I could transfer my electrical apprentice training into the linesman training at all . Or would I have to do another four periods of training. Also , would it kill my body . I'm a pretty tough old bastard but not built like I was . The truth is my body never bugged me until being a nurse full time . Too much sitting at a computer . Fancy that . Yeah I'd appreciate any input . As far as heights and bad weather , and being on call I'm good with that . Not yet good with dying but I don't mind risk . 

Best regards 

Manfred


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## BleedingLungsMurphy (10 mo ago)

Not sure where you live but becoming a lineman is nearly impossible unless you have blood relatives that can get you into an apprenticeship. All the linemen I meet start out their apprenticeship fresh out of highschool. It's a lot of hard labor and they want young guys. As far as I know the training is not transferable but each province has their own rules.

What kind of electrical work are you doing? I would suggest applying with different companies for different types of work as a 3rd year. I tell everyone going through their mid-apprentice crisis to get their ticket before making any life changing decisions.

At the end of the day I would rather be a self employed electrician than a lineman.


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## Manny Allegro (8 mo ago)

Thanks bleeding lungs , 

Im grateful for your response and see glimpses of your wisdom in there . I'm not doing any ( beside side jobs ) electrical work right now because I'm in the emergency dept working as a psych nurse . It's just not doing it for me any more . Used to like helping folks but I've lost my mojo for that it seems . 

Your comparison to working as a self employed electrician vs linesman that clicks with me . I like the organization part of doing jobs and finding the optimal path to getting stuff done . And I love being outside , used to be a treeplanter back in my 20s . So that's the draw for the linesman work. 

You're right about employers looking for young guys though . Thank you for your help 

Best regards


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## BleedingLungsMurphy (10 mo ago)

Manny Allegro said:


> used to be a treeplanter back in my 20s . So that's the draw for the linesman work.


Take the kids out and go plant some trees. Enjoy all the free time you have to spend with them while it lasts. Work is over-rated.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Manny Allegro said:


> I'd appreciate very much anyone doing line work to shed light on whether this is a crazy idea .


Yes it is a crazy idea  

There's lots of electrical work besides line work that gets you outside, you could either seek out a company that does a lot of that work, or start contracting and try to specialize in that work. Solar work for example.


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## Manny Allegro (8 mo ago)

Hi splatz ,

Thanks for your helpful reply , I like that you are to the point . Your ideas about solar or , more out door work is solid . I had mused around a bit about solar too . I'll do some thinking on these ideas and get my ass in gear for fourth year school . 

Best regards


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## u2slow (Jan 2, 2014)

I looked into the lineman trade about 15 years ago. I even tried their weekend pole-climbing intro and was good at it. Getting in wasn't a problem - paying for their 12week bootcamp, and upgrading the DL were roadblocks for me.

Looking back, my construction apprenticeship had me outside plenty (more than i wanted actually). Linework would have been harder on my body (that what i'm doing now) and their big $$$ comes from when SHTF in the worst weather and conditions.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

Being outside every day takes a toll on you. Have you ever seen guys who work for underground companies? They work in rain, shine, sleet, snow and the blazing sun.

I worked doing parking lot lighting repair for a couple years and that was enough for me. I love the fresh outdoors but not 365 days a year.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

Residential roof top solar is a young man’s game. I would avoid it if possible. I never worked at any of the big solar fields. They’re probably easier. Flat commercial roofs aren’t too bad. The problem with it all, is that you have to knock it out. Mostly in bad conditions. They usually have quotas. Mostly unrealistic.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

HertzHound said:


> The problem with it all, is that you have to knock it out. Mostly in bad conditions. They usually have quotas, mostly unrealistic.


100%. This is the name of the game. Get it done. 

So if you only work outside, that means your subject to the weather EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

When solar started to take off around here, my employer started a solar division. They hired a guy with some background as the project manager. They sent me and another guy to a three day class at one of Sharp’s headquarters.

They did one field and a bunch of commercial rooftops. I worked on a few rooftop jobs in between our normal type of work. I think it was just too competitive? They stopped doing it after two years. I spent many days working in 90+ or rain. It doesn’t bother me that they got out of it.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

HertzHound said:


> When solar started to take off around here, my employer started a solar division. They hired a guy with some background as the project manager. They sent me and another guy to a three day class at one of Sharp’s headquarters.
> 
> They did one field and a bunch of commercial rooftops. I worked on a few rooftop jobs in between our normal type of work. I think it was just too competitive? They stopped doing it after two years. I spent many days working in 90+ or rain. It doesn’t bother me that they got out of it.


Things like that sound really fun to do, until you start doing it every day or until you hit your mid 30’s. Then you start realizing everything that comes with it.

With that being said, solar is another item on a long list of electrical projects I’d like do at least once in my career.


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## u2slow (Jan 2, 2014)

Solar needs to settle out some. Despite grants and incentives, there may just not be enough 'sun' in the region for long-term viability. Also depends what (little) the utility is paying you back for surplus.

In BC, most of our electric is hydro (renewable) in the first place, terrible solar irridiance near the coast, and BCHydro doesnt pay much for surplus. 

Not a field i need or want to tap into.... Unless its a hobby to have some power at my own off-the-grid cabin or similar.


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## Wardenclyffe (Jan 11, 2019)

Always something to do,


GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - A Grand Island Utilities crew joined members from Lincoln Electric System on a trip to Florida to help restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Grand Island Utilities Distribution Superintendent Bryan Fiala said the utilities department sent a six-man crew with a bucket truck, digger truck and utility truck to be used during this deployment.


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

MHElectric said:


> Things like that sound really fun to do, until you start doing it every day or until you hit your mid 30’s. Then you start realizing everything that comes with it.
> 
> With that being said, solar is another item on a long list of electrical projects I’d like do at least once in my career.


Modules are getting bigger (heavier). Standing on sloped roofs all day sucks. Working in the rain sucks. Working barehanded in -10 weather sucks. For me, the fun part was always the designing and layout.


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

Manny Allegro said:


> Hi fellas ,
> 
> I'm an odd duck . I won't lie . I'm a psychiatric nurse , and a third year electrician . I'm old too . 44 and got two kids under 7 . Maybe I'm having a mid life crisis , but find myself wishing I was a lineman instead . Been a full time psych nurse for the past six years , and before that was in oil and gas in the trade doing industrial construction . I'd appreciate very much anyone doing line work to shed light on whether this is a crazy idea . I m curious if I could transfer my electrical apprentice training into the linesman training at all . Or would I have to do another four periods of training. Also , would it kill my body . I'm a pretty tough old bastard but not built like I was . The truth is my body never bugged me until being a nurse full time . Too much sitting at a computer . Fancy that . Yeah I'd appreciate any input . As far as heights and bad weather , and being on call I'm good with that . Not yet good with dying but I don't mind risk .
> 
> ...


The entire world is not construction or office jobs. There is so much in between. Most guys your age become service technicians. Even when the job turns into “construction” you get a break often. The past 2 days was pretty much nonstop pulling cable by hand. Some blank hole stole thousands of feet of wire out of a seasonal plant. But the prior days were all troubleshooting jobs where you are mostly moving around and doing a lot of “head work”, and lots of windshield time. So it’s not desk work either.


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## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

To be blunt there is nothing about being an electrician that transfers to being a lineman. 
I stopped climbing and dealing with overhead when I was 30. I was tougher than fried owl s_it.
Standing on the balls of your feet even with the right equipment was a chore and I walked funny when I did it a lot. 
I fail to see how you will change careers from medicine to electrical and still feed your family unless you open your own shop and get extremely lucky at hiring people. 
I would look around at the other medical opportunities. 

I remember a cold icy November where we took 20 minutes in the bucket working and then 40 minutes in the truck warming back up. 6 of us did that for 30 hours. People were freezing and the wells did not work. No one back then had a generator.


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