Linesman

[cfricker]

Anyone work as a linesman or have any info about the trade?

I'm a third year electrician and thinking of making the switch. Noticed that A company called Altalink was hiring apprentices at an entry level and wondering what the wages would be like starting out. Trying to figure out what kind of a wage cut I would be looking at. I know in the long term you would make more than a regular electrician.

[bsmitty27]

My brothers a linesman. I don't know what the apprentice wages are. But they are very stable compared to other sectors. My brother worked for a Hello in hawaii for 10 years. He does contract work on transmission lines in canada now. Its a good trade. And the work is steady through boom and bust.
brad

[Dewey Cox]

My brother is a linesman too.
As far as I can tell, he makes more money than he knows what to do with.
Atco just laid off about 300 people, and it sounds like the cut backs were mostly in the line construction end of things. So there might be a surplus of linesmen out there without work right now.

[Badgoodguy]

Check out valard Construction

Just a thought

[Mountain Guy]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

My brother is a linesman too.
As far as I can tell, he makes more money than he knows what to do with.
Atco just laid off about 300 people, and it sounds like the cut backs were mostly in the line construction end of things. So there might be a surplus of linesmen out there without work right now.

^^^
this.....other than the part about too much money.
Possibly BC.... but there probably is a surplus in AB right now.

[deerguy]

Join the Union. Every time we have Linesmans calls they go open. We have a bunch of contracts for future lines as Alberta is updating and adding onto the grid. All sorts of new substations going up in near future. Pretty sure the scab sector does not have a lot of it, they had the 500kv lines at first and as per with them they pooched it real bad. I believe the scab sector pays $1-5$ more per hour but no pension, I could be off on that you would have to call the hall and ask. I could also get you in touch with one of our lineman off Facebook who has been around for awhile and he could give you the ins and outs

[Mountain Guy]

What union?
You talking BC maybe?
I've been scabbing for 32 years I guess...

[deerguy]

Originally Posted by Mountain Guy

What union?
You talking BC maybe?
I've been scabbing for 32 years I guess...

424. All sorts of Linemen in our hall.

[raab]

I did this for 8 months when I got out of high school. All I'm going to say is that if you don't mind being at the top of a half rotted pole, thats iced up with your belt slipping and the wind blowing in your face then you'll be fine.

[wildwoods]

The good: great pay, lots of hours, different tasks, see some beautiful and remote places via quad foot and chopper

The bad: out of town if you want to make the great pay. Some pretty rough characters in that group. Dangerous work.

Overall I've seen quite a few family members and close friends make a great living. It comes with a sacrifice. So far nobody I know has been hurt too bad or killed. My bro in law degloved the back of his hand once though. For myself I couldn't be away from my young family that long. There are good "in-town" jobs too but the pay is significantly less.

[Vanden]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

The good: great pay, lots of hours, different tasks, see some beautiful and remote places via quad foot and chopper

The bad: out of town if you want to make the great pay. Some pretty rough characters in that group. Dangerous work.

This x2.
There lots of different areas or aspects of the trade. Distrbution, Underground, Transmission.
Valard, Forbes Bros (RS Line), Rokstad, Fisher, Midlite are some of the bigger contractors out there, some are part of the 424 union.
Your utilities are the Altalink, Atco, Fortis, Municipalities etc. I feel like they might be a little harder to get hired on being green, but thats just the vibe i`ve gotten.

1st year wage is roughly $22-24 to start, Journeyman is double that. Usually get LOA of some sort. The work is a little less susceptible to the boom/bust cycle, but still is effected a little bit from what i've noticed. Seems to be picking up though from whats been heard on the grapevine.

[buckstop660]

I retired after 40 years with a Electric utility in the States as a lineman and operations supervisor. I spent the last 20 in management but Line work is a great job. My advise is to finish your electricians apprenticeship before changing. Another great job is a sub station electrician and the background you are getting would be very valuable. Sub electricians generally make more than linemen and dont usually have the nasty parts of overhead linework to deal with. Good luck with your choice.

[mudbug]

Finish your first ticket before switching over, you're better off if you do. Tradesman with more than one ticket can have an advantage when competing for work

[HunterRed]

Being a lineman the pay is good, the work is hard, days are long, and nights are longer. And then there's winter... Altalink would be a good outfit to work for. Expect to spend some time on the road, usually Monday to Thursday, or occasionally longer. They are members of the UUWA and as such their collective agreement is available online. It will contain the "perks" and compensation. Altalink is a transmission company and they build, operate and maintain high voltage lines 69kv up to 500kv as well as substations that will bring that voltage down to 25kv distribution. It's high voltage and often heights well above 50ft even as high as 100 ft in buckets and on towers. If you get in young, you will do well building a career of it. The boys there all seem pretty good to work with. The ones I've interacted with anyway. Best of luck with your new adventure, I hope it works out for you.

[golferac]

I am extremely interested in starting my labourer experience to qualify for the apprenticeship but I am having trouble obtaining a position with a company as I have O&G experience (4 years, same company) exclusively on my resume. I have pointed out that I am currently very busy and am therefore not using the labourer position as a temporary job until oil and gas prices rise. This is what I want to do as as a career but I am confused as to how make the jump and convince someone to take me on as a labourer.
Does anyone have any further insights into the industry or any suggestions?

[raab]

Originally Posted by golferac

I am extremely interested in starting my labourer experience to qualify for the apprenticeship but I am having trouble obtaining a position with a company as I have O&G experience (4 years, same company) exclusively on my resume. I have pointed out that I am currently very busy and am therefore not using the labourer position as a temporary job until oil and gas prices rise. This is what I want to do as as a career but I am confused as to how make the jump and convince someone to take me on as a labourer.
Does anyone have any further insights into the industry or any suggestions?

Apply at Valard, they might be slow though with construction slowing down in O&G.

[huntsfurfish]

Thought hockey, my bad.

[golferac]

Originally Posted by raab

Apply at Valard, they might be slow though with construction slowing down in O&G.

Thanks for the reply. Do you have a specific strategy or just send them a cover letter and resume and hope it gets through the filters?

[Jason Bourne]

Unfortunately things are really slow at the moment. FortisAb has a hiring freeze at the moment however i did notice a number of labourer positions posted at FortisBC today. I didn't look close so they may be for lineman or in there gas division (formerly Terasen gas).Contractors are a lot slower these days but its definitely worth contacting them to get a feel for the possible forecast in work availability. Good luck in your search. If you have any questions feel free to pm me. Ray

[raab]

Originally Posted by golferac

Thanks for the reply. Do you have a specific strategy or just send them a cover letter and resume and hope it gets through the filters?

I'd take your cover letter and resume in, in person. Maybe call ahead and see if you can line up an appointment to talk to whoever does the hiring, just tell them you have questions about becoming a lineman apprentice. I was pretty lucky when I did it fresh out of high school. Had a contact in the company that helped line me up with the job. If I had been a bit fonder of heights I'd probably still be doing it.

[TBark]

Watch out for Dennis Wideman,
sorry couldn't resist.

TBark

[purgatory.sv]

Originally Posted by Mountain Guy

What union?
You talking BC maybe?
I've been scabbing for 32 years I guess...

Scabbing or out of definition?

I used the word definition because the terminology describing employment is always changing.

[fishead]

Originally Posted by buckstop660

I retired after 40 years with a Electric utility in the States as a lineman and operations supervisor. I spent the last 20 in management but Line work is a great job. My advise is to finish your electricians apprenticeship before changing. Another great job is a sub station electrician and the background you are getting would be very valuable. Sub electricians generally make more than linemen and dont usually have the nasty parts of overhead linework to deal with. Good luck with your choice.

X2
I was a power lineman for nine years and power system electrician for five.
Alta link is the high line work and fortis is distribution. Definitely more home time with fortis. Both are great trades pse is definitely more technical and less rigging.

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Thought hockey, my bad.

My thought as well when I read the title.

Isn't the trade called "Lineman"??

A Linesman works with referees.

[golferac]

Thanks for the tip. I'll give that a shot with a smaller outfit around here on Wednesday.

Originally Posted by raab

I'd take your cover letter and resume in, in person. Maybe call ahead and see if you can line up an appointment to talk to whoever does the hiring, just tell them you have questions about becoming a lineman apprentice. I was pretty lucky when I did it fresh out of high school. Had a contact in the company that helped line me up with the job. If I had been a bit fonder of heights I'd probably still be doing it.

[golferac]

Which did you enjoy more? Why did you choose to leave the industry after 14 years?

Originally Posted by fishead

X2
I was a power lineman for nine years and power system electrician for five.
Alta link is the high line work and fortis is distribution. Definitely more home time with fortis. Both are great trades pse is definitely more technical and less rigging.

[Dick284]

I too worked as a Power Lineman for the old pre deregulation Transalta, on the distribution side. It's hard work, I've got the back, neck and shoulder issues to show for it.
I left the trade in '94 when TA was window dressing the distribution assets for sale, and layoffs happened. I kicked around the oil patch for 12 years, then in '06 hired on as a Hydro operator with TA, they sent me to get my Electricians ticket, now I'm in it to win it! What I'll win isn't defined yet.

[avb3]

My BIL just retired from being a linesman. Great pay, great benefits, but as others said, it is shift work, and some of the weather conditions can be tough. He doesn't regret his career, and he worked rigs in his early 20's.

Here is the wage rate. He was near the top for most of his career.

http://occinfo.alis.alberta.ca/occin...e.html?id=7244

[golferac]

Thanks for the insight. I am not too concerned about the money. It will come eventually if I am good at the job. I am just trying to get started right now

Originally Posted by avb3

My BIL just retired from being a linesman. Great pay, great benefits, but as others said, it is shift work, and some of the weather conditions can be tough. He doesn't regret his career, and he worked rigs in his early 20's.

Here is the wage rate. He was near the top for most of his career.

http://occinfo.alis.alberta.ca/occin...e.html?id=7244

[fishead]

I am still in the industry, work in a control centre and manage the grid. The industry has been good to me. I liked the adventure of the power lineman trade, lots of rigging truck driving, crane operating. Pse is more mechanical with more instrumentation but you are out of town more. I liked both trades and the friendships you make are unparalleled due to the nature of the work. Teamwork and safety are a large component.