How To Become A Pole Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pole inspector 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 pole inspector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.66 an hour? That's $49,219 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -17,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePole InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $49,219

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 7.59%

Black or African American 10.44%

Hispanic or Latino 19.12%

Unknown 4.47%

White 57.60%

Gender

female 3.02%

male 96.98%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pole inspector

Explore pole inspector education requirements

Most common pole inspector degrees

High School Diploma

51.9 %

Bachelor's

19.0 %

Associate

11.4 %

Start to develop specific pole inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
GPS	42.61%
Utility Poles	32.57%
DIG	7.94%
Pole Inspection	7.28%
ROT	4.18%

Complete relevant pole inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pole inspectors 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 pole inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pole inspector resumes.

Research pole inspector duties and responsibilities

Dig, holes, inspect poles, travel, treat poles, visual of poles, etc
Complete and thorough utility pole excavations 18"below grind level.
Inspect wood for rot, defaults and damage due to natural conditions.
Inspect safety issues (NESC) for telephone, cable, and electrical lines.

Prepare your pole inspector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pole inspector 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 pole inspector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pole inspector resume templates

Build a professional pole inspector 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 pole inspector resume.