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Major · Construction Trades

Work the poles and towers — the trade that keeps the grid running

Lineworker programs teach the installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of electric power cables and communication lines, including pole and tower construction, underground cable, and high-voltage work. About 441 credentials are awarded annually across 31 colleges. These are associate's and certificate programs that feed directly into utility jobs.

Schools offering
31
Annual completions
441
Typical degree level
Associate's
Median earnings (5yr)
$76k

About this major

Lineworker programs prepare you for the specialized trade of installing and maintaining the electrical grid — overhead and underground power cables, pole and tower construction, high-voltage installations, and communication lines. The CIP definition spans cable installation and repair, fibre-optic technology, trenching, mobile equipment and crane operation, and applicable codes and standards. Programs are hands-on from the start: students climb poles, operate bucket trucks, and practice hot-line techniques in training yards before ever touching an energized line in the field. Most programs align with utility apprenticeship requirements and add OSHA and CDL coursework.

The major fits students who are physically comfortable at height, calm under exacting safety protocols, and drawn to infrastructure work that is visibly critical — every pole, transformer, and substation is part of the grid keeping the country running. The mindset rewarded is procedural and disciplined: grounding, sequence-of-operations, and hot-line technique are all cases where skipping a step has consequences measured in kilovolts. Students who already enjoy outdoor work in variable conditions, and who don't need a desk-based career trajectory, tend to thrive.

About 441 credentials are awarded annually across 31 colleges. Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology leads with 71 completions, followed by Alpena Community College (MI) and Metropolitan Community College Area (NE) at 44 each — a pattern showing the major is concentrated in regions where utilities actively recruit from specific programs. The destination BLS data is strong: electrical power-line installer and repairer at a $92,560 median with 6.6% projected growth, and first-line supervisor of mechanics, installers, and repairers at $78,300. Median earnings five years after completion run about $76,400.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers $78k +3.1% High school diploma or equivalent
Electrical power-line installers and repairers $93k +6.6% High school diploma or equivalent
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$76k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you're physically comfortable working at height and in all weather, you want an associate's-level trade that pays among the highest in skilled trades (BLS median $92,560 for power-line installers), you're drawn to utility work with pension-and-benefits job structures, you're procedurally disciplined around safety-critical work, or you want a career where storm response and on-call rotation are part of the appeal rather than a downside. Students from rural backgrounds or with prior outdoor trade exposure often adapt especially well.

Think twice if you dislike unpredictable schedules — storm restoration doesn't care about your weekend, and early-career linework typically involves relocation and travel for training and major outages. Think twice also if you're uncomfortable with heights, confined spaces, or the physicality required: the 441 annual completions reflect a relatively small national supply partly because the work screens out students who can't or won't do the physical side. If you want the electrical trades but prefer indoor or building-based work, the related Electrician track (3,003 annual completions) or Electrical and Power Transmission Installation/Installer, General (570 completions) are broader and less physically demanding alternatives.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Lineworker

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Okmulgee, OK 71 0 71
Alpena Community College Alpena, MI 44 0 44
Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE 44 0 44
State Technical College of Missouri Linn, MO 42 0 42
Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, MO 40 0 40
Texas State Technical College Waco, TX 37 0 37
Northeast Community College Norfolk, NE 34 0 34
Minnesota State Community and Technical College Fergus Falls, MN 28 0 28
Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN 26 0 26
Northwest Iowa Community College Sheldon, IA 17 0 17
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Electrician

3,003 completions/yr

Electrical and Power Transmission Installation/Installer, General

570 completions/yr

Carpentry/Carpenter

530 completions/yr

Construction Trades, General

519 completions/yr

Building/Property Maintenance

237 completions/yr

Electrical and Power Transmission Installers, Other

72 completions/yr

Mason/Masonry

43 completions/yr

Concrete Finishing/Concrete Finisher

6 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do lineworker programs actually teach?
Coursework covers cable installation and repair, fibre-optic technology, trenching, mobile equipment and crane operation, high-voltage installations, and remote communications — plus heavy emphasis on safety and applicable codes. The hands-on component is extensive: climbing gaffs, bucket truck operation, pole-top work, and hot-line techniques. Many programs include OSHA certification, CDL training, and first-responder safety coursework, because the work involves energized circuits, heights, and remote locations.
What jobs do graduates actually get?
The direct destination is electrical power-line installer and repairer, with a BLS median wage of $92,560 and projected job growth of 6.6% — one of the better-paying trade occupations. Most graduates hire into investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives, or contractor crews that build and maintain transmission and distribution systems. A smaller path leads to first-line supervisor of mechanics, installers, and repairers ($78,300 median) after several years of field experience. The five-year median earnings figure for completers in this track is about $76,400.
Do I need a bachelor's for this work?
No. The tracked degree level here is associate's, and BLS lists a high school diploma as typical entry education for power-line installers. The two-year track is the standard pathway, typically paired with on-the-job apprenticeship hours logged at a utility. Five-year completer earnings around $76,400 support the economics of skipping the four-year route. Progression comes through journeyman certification and field experience, not academic credentials.
What's the work actually like day-to-day?
Most linework is outdoors, in all weather, often at height, and frequently on-call for storm response. Crew-based work with strict safety protocols is the norm — the industry takes grounding, hot-line technique, and OSHA procedures with existential seriousness because the energy levels involved are lethal. Expect early-career years of intense physical work, travel for storm restoration, and rotating shift schedules. In return, the pay is one of the higher in skilled trades, and utility work carries pension and benefit structures that are increasingly rare in other industries.
How does this compare with becoming an electrician?
Both are electrical trades but the day-to-day and pay differ. Electrician (3,003 annual completions nationally) focuses on building wiring — residential, commercial, industrial circuits — usually indoors or on-site. Lineworker (441 completions) works transmission and distribution outside, at height, on poles and towers. BLS median wages bear this out: electricians sit at $62,350, power-line installers at $92,560. The lineworker path is narrower, more physically demanding, and better compensated; electrician is broader, more indoor, and a larger job market with more geographic flexibility.