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Skilled trades and making things · Ohio

Electrical lineworker: what the job actually is

Building and repairing the power lines that carry electricity to homes and businesses, often up a pole or in a bucket, often in bad weather.

By , founder, U.S. Air Force veteranChecked against official Ohio sources Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

The work

What this job actually is

  • Climbing poles and working from bucket trucks to build, maintain and repair overhead and underground power lines.
  • Storms are the job. When the power goes out, lineworkers go out, in ice, wind and heat, often for long stretches and sometimes far from home.
  • It is dangerous work around high voltage and at height. The rules and protective gear are strict for a reason.
  • You work as a crew. Trust in the people on the ground and in the next bucket is everything.
  • It is physical: climbing, lifting, hauling gear, and working with heavy trucks.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. Early start at the yard: tailboard meeting about the job and the hazards.
  2. Load the trucks and drive to a site where a pole needs replacing.
  3. Set up traffic control, check the line, put on protective gear.
  4. Frame and set the new pole, move the wires over, remove the old one.
  5. Lunch in the truck.
  6. Afternoon: a call about a transformer outage. Find it, fix it, restore power.
  7. Back to the yard, restock the truck. If a storm is coming, expect a call tonight.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

You may like this if
  • Heights do not bother you and you like physical work.
  • You want work that matters to people right away. Turning the lights back on does.
  • You do well on a tight crew with clear rules.
  • Storm overtime and travel sound like an adventure.
You may hate this if
  • You are afraid of heights or of electricity. Respect is good; fear is a problem.
  • You need a predictable schedule. Storms do not care about your weekend.
  • Being away from home for days at a time is a dealbreaker.
  • You do not want to follow safety procedures exactly, every time.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ohio

  1. Finish high school or get a GED

    ALBAT, the line construction apprenticeship based in Medway, Ohio, requires proof of a high school diploma or equivalent.

  2. Get a commercial learner's permit at 18

    ALBAT requires a Class A CDL or Class A commercial learner's permit, valid at the time you apply. In Ohio you can get a commercial learner's permit at 18.

  3. Apply to a line apprenticeship

    ALBAT is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. Applicants take an aptitude test, interview and are placed on a ranking list. Its outside line program requires 7,000 hours of on-the-job training, roughly three to three and a half years.

  4. Or get hired by a utility or electric cooperative

    Ohio's Electric Cooperatives run the Central Ohio Lineworker Training (COLT) program near Mt. Gilead for apprentice and journeyman lineworkers, but it is limited to people employed by one of Ohio's 24 electric co-ops. Getting hired by a co-op comes first.

  5. Some people start with a pre-apprentice line school

    Ohio career centers and colleges run lineworker programs that teach climbing and safety before you apply. Ask whether a program helps graduates get hired before you pay for it.

While you are still in high school

  • Look for a high school utility lineworker program. Coshocton County Career Center's program teaches climbing, rigging and safety and offers OSHA 10, NCCER Core and NCCER Level 1 credentials, with Hocking College as a college partner.
  • Get strong in math and physical fitness. Climbing poles is hard on your body.
  • Earn the OSHA 10-hour card. Safety training is a big part of this job.
  • Plan to study for the commercial driver knowledge test as soon as you turn 18.

Where this comes from: ALBAT — New applicant FAQs · Ohio's Electric Cooperatives — Central Ohio Lineworker Training · Coshocton County Career Center — Utility Line Worker · Ohio BMV — Commercial driver license · OSHA — Outreach Training Program (10-hour and 30-hour cards). Rules change, so check the official page before you rely on a detail.

The money

What it pays in Ohio

Last on purpose. Pay matters, but it is a bad reason to pick a job you would dislike for thirty years.

$93,150
Median pay in Ohio, a year
$44.78
Median pay in Ohio, an hour
4,260
People doing this job in Ohio
$96,340
Median pay in the Akron area, a year

Most people in Ohio earn between $58,840 (the lowest-paid tenth, usually new starters) and $111,760 (the highest-paid tenth) a year.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Ohio and Akron, OH metro area. Median means half earn more and half earn less.

Try it this week

Find out how storm restoration really works

  1. Look up your local utility or electric co-op's outage map and watch it during the next storm.

  2. Note how long outages last and how many crews are out.

  3. Search for a video of a lineworker climbing a pole and watch it all the way through. Picture doing that in sleet.

  4. Write down one honest reason you would want this job and one reason you would not.

Questions to ask somebody who does it

  • What was your longest storm stretch away from home?
  • How did you get your CDL, and did you need it before you were hired?
  • What scared you most in your first year?
  • Did you go to a line school first, or straight to an apprenticeship?
  • What do apprentices who wash out have in common?

Can you own one?

Not really: this job is almost always done for an employer.

Questions

Quick answers

How much does a electrical lineworker make in Ohio?
The median pay for a electrical lineworker in Ohio is $93,150 a year ($44.78 an hour), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025. Most people earn between $58,840 and $111,760.
How do you become a electrical lineworker in Ohio?
Finish high school or get a GED. Get a commercial learner's permit at 18. Apply to a line apprenticeship. Or get hired by a utility or electric cooperative. Some people start with a pre-apprentice line school.

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