Overhead Line Worker (Lineworker)
🗼Builds and repairs power lines: climbs pylons and poles, replaces insulators and cables, restores power after storms in any weather.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $103.6k a year on average · +10.3% jobs by 2035 · 10,900 openings a year
Electrical powerline installers & repairers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £48.1k median a year · 20,000 jobs
Electrical and electronic trades n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
Drones inspect the lines and robots help on the towers, but repairs out in the open after a storm will be done by people for a long time.
Who it suits
Interests: 🔧 Making things by hand, ⚙️ Tech and engineering, 🏕️ Outdoor work, expeditions, 🏃 Sport and movement.
Key strengths: strength and stamina, manual dexterity.
Where to study
- Apprenticeship Overhead Linesperson apprenticeship (UK, Level 3); lineworker apprenticeship (US, about 4 years)
- Vocational Lineworker pre-apprenticeship school (US); Ausbildung Elektroniker für Betriebstechnik (DE)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Maths, Physics, PE.
🧗 A paid apprenticeship with a network company: about 3 years in the UK, about 4 in the US (often after a short lineworker school). In the US, storm call-outs can make earnings very high.
Things to know
🧗 Working at heights⚠️ Real danger to life🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells🧳 Frequent work trips🩺 Strict medical checks
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