You keep the lights on for everyone else.
Power linemen build and maintain the grid itself — one of the highest-paid, most physically demanding, most respected trades there is. This guide breaks down real pay by experience level and what actually moves the number.
Linework
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks this trade under "electrical power-line installers and repairers" — that category posted a median annual wage of $92,560 as of May 2024, the most recent OEWS data available. The BLS also projects employment growth of 7% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than average, with about 10,700 openings projected each year.
Groundhand / Apprentice ($22–28/hr) is where most people start in this trade — typically through a formal apprenticeship, trade school program, or on-the-job training under a journeyman.
Journeyman Lineworker ($40–55/hr) is where independent, unsupervised work authority kicks in — the point where most of the trade's workforce sits.
Foreman / Specialist ($58–75+/hr) covers senior specialists and crew leads — the people called in when the job is too complex or too urgent for anyone else.
Emergency restoration deployments pay time-and-a-half to double-time and can push annual earnings well past base median.
Natural gas distribution and electric power generation consistently post the highest-paying sectors for this trade.
The jump from ground-hand to journeyman lineman is one of the largest single pay increases in any trade in this network.
IBEW Outside Construction wage scales set a strong floor most non-union contractors have to compete with.
This guide describes the work editorially rather than using invented worker testimonials. In linework, pay tends to move with demonstrable experience, harder-to-find skills, job conditions, geography, credentials where relevant, and the amount of responsibility you can take on safely.
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