How To Become A Linesman: What It Is and Career Path

What is a linesman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a linesman. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.1 an hour? That's $70,929 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 13,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLinesmanUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,929

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.53%

Asian 1.21%

Black or African American 5.87%

Hispanic or Latino 13.78%

Unknown 3.09%

White 74.53%

Gender

female 9.43%

male 90.57%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a linesman

Explore linesman education requirements

Most common linesman degrees

High School Diploma

49.2 %

Bachelor's

16.1 %

Associate

15.3 %

Start to develop specific linesman skills

Skills	Percentages
Underground Cables	19.52%
Fiber Optic	18.74%
Customer Service	17.16%
Overhead Lines	13.33%
Truck Inspections	7.90%

Complete relevant linesman training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New linesmen learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a linesman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real linesman resumes.

Research linesman duties and responsibilities

Work as part of a team running HV and MV lines throughout the island.
Set up cranes at work location and establish a control access zone to prevent injury to others on the job site.
Gain experience using backhoes, trenchers, and cable pulling equipment.
Serve as an active member in the company HSE program with stellar participation in all meetings and outside courses present.

Prepare your linesman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your linesman resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a linesman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable linesman resume templates

Build a professional linesman resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your linesman resume.