Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
- Median pay
- $95,320
- Doing it now
- 131,900
- By 2035
- Up 10.3%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
10,900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
- 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.
- Place insulating or fireproofing materials over conductors and joints.
- Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
- Identify defective sectionalizing devices, circuit breakers, fuses, voltage regulators, transformers, switches, relays, or wiring, using wiring diagrams and electrical-testing instruments.
- Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersSee 2 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $95,320 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.