Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
Architecture and ConstructionO*NET 49-9051.00United States
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
- Median annual earnings
- $95,051
- Projected change
- +11.4%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 135.3K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
68.4% of the workforce
Growing to 150.7K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
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The work
What electrical power-line installers and repairers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
- Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
- Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs.
- Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment.
- Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
- Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment to locate and identify problems, using reading and testing instruments.
- Coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers.
- String wire conductors and cables between poles, towers, trenches, pylons, and buildings, setting lines in place and using winches to adjust tension.
- Replace or straighten damaged poles.
- Attach cross-arms, insulators, and auxiliary equipment to poles prior to installing them.
- Dig holes, using augers, and set poles, using cranes and power equipment.
- Travel in trucks, helicopters, and airplanes to inspect lines for freedom from obstruction and adequacy of insulation.
- Identify defective sectionalizing devices, circuit breakers, fuses, voltage regulators, transformers, switches, relays, or wiring, using wiring diagrams and electrical-testing instruments.
- Install watt-hour meters and connect service drops between power lines and consumers' facilities.
- Test conductors, according to electrical diagrams and specifications, to identify corresponding conductors and to prevent incorrect connections.
- Place insulating or fireproofing materials over conductors and joints.
- Splice or solder cables together or to overhead transmission lines, customer service lines, or street light lines, using hand tools, epoxies, or specialized equipment.
- Trim trees that could be hazardous to the functioning of cables or wires.
- Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
- Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduit running through the trenches.
- Cut trenches for laying underground cables, using trenchers and cable plows.
- Cut and peel lead sheathing and insulation from defective or newly installed cables and conduits prior to splicing.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $51,226
- 25th percentile
- $66,993
- 50th percentile
- $95,051
- 75th percentile
- $109,678
- 90th percentile
- $128,641
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $95,051 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+11.4%faster than average
2025135,297 jobs
2035 projected150,701 jobs
15,404 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 68.4%
- Certificate
- 18.9%
- Some college
- 9.9%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 2.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Linemen1,521 postings
- 02Journeyman Linemen1,082 postings
- 03Utility Locators1,023 postings
- 04Aerial Linemen805 postings
- 05Underground Utility Locators673 postings
- 06Apprentice Linemen392 postings
- 07Class A Linemen278 postings
- 08Overhead Crane Service Technicians267 postings
- 09Utility Workers264 postings
- 10Line Mechanics241 postings
- 11Distribution Leads160 postings
- 12Locate Technicians160 postings
- 13Ground Hands120 postings
- 14Transmission Managers118 postings
- 15Lead Linemen115 postings
- 16Utility Locate Technicians114 postings
- 17Overhead Crane Operators107 postings
- 18Line Locators101 postings
- 19Heads of Distribution100 postings
- 20Underground Foremen97 postings
Top employers
- 01UtiliQuest771 postings
- 02MasTec669 postings
- 03Pike Electric632 postings
- 04Vannguard Utility Partners514 postings
- 05American Electric Power199 postings
- 06Davis H Elliot Co.150 postings
- 07Asplundh Tree Experts127 postings
- 08Ohio Edison Company117 postings
- 09French Lick Resort114 postings
- 10Ervin Cable Construction109 postings
- 11Entergy93 postings
- 12Duke Energy85 postings
- 13Chain Electric82 postings
- 14On The Spot Utility Resources80 postings
- 15Summit Utility Services76 postings
- 16Itg Communications75 postings
- 17Triple D Communications74 postings
- 18Verità Telecommunications Corporation74 postings
- 19Line Quest72 postings
- 20Electricom70 postings
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