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Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
Ability to work at heights. Electrical power-line installers and repairers must be comfortable working at great heights. They may work from ladders or bucket lifts and climb utility poles.
Color vision. Workers who handle electrical wires and cables must be able to distinguish colors because the wires and cables are often color coded.
Interpersonal skills. Because these workers rely on their fellow crew members for safety, they must be able to collaborate as part of a team.
Physical stamina. Electrical power-line installers and repairers often must climb poles with heavy tools and equipment.
Physical strength. Electrical power-line installers and repairers must be able to lift heavy tools, cables, and equipment on the job.
Problem-solving skills. Electrical power-line installers and repairers must diagnose problems in electrical systems and lines and be able to repair or replace faulty equipment.
Technical skills. Electrical power-line installers use diagnostic equipment on circuit breakers, switches, and transformers. They must be familiar with electrical systems and the appropriate tools needed to fix and maintain them.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
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87% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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82% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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81% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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81% | Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. | |
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80% | Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. | |
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78% | Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. | |
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77% | Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations. | |
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75% | Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. | |
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75% | Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. | |
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73% | Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. | |
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70% | Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. | |
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69% | Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. | |
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67% | Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
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100% | Realistic - Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Values of the Work Environment |
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89% | Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. | |
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61% | Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
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75% | Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem. | |
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75% | Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. | |
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75% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). | |
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75% | Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. | |
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69% | Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions. | |
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69% | Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. | |
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66% | Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. | |
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66% | Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). | |
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66% | Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. | |
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66% | Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
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100% | Outdoors, Exposed to Weather - How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions? | |
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100% | Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets - How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets? | |
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98% | Exposed to Hazardous Conditions - How often does this job require exposure to hazardous conditions? | |
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98% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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97% | Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job? | |
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97% | Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? | |
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96% | Exposed to High Places - How often does this job require exposure to high places? | |
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94% | Exposed to Hazardous Equipment - How often does this job require exposure to hazardous equipment? | |
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94% | Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? | |
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92% | Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection - How much does this job require wearing specialized protective or safety equipment such as breathing apparatus, safety harness, full protection suits, or radiation protection? | |
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89% | Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? | |
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89% | Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? | |
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89% | Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable - How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable? | |
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88% | Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer? | |
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88% | In an Enclosed Vehicle or Equipment - How often does this job require working in a closed vehicle or equipment (e.g., car)? | |
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86% | Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting - How often does this job require working in extremely bright or inadequate lighting conditions? | |
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86% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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85% | Responsibility for Outcomes and Results - How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers? | |
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85% | In an Open Vehicle or Equipment - How often does this job require working in an open vehicle or equipment (e.g., tractor)? | |
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83% | Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings - How often does this job require exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings? | |
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83% | Very Hot or Cold Temperatures - How often does this job require working in very hot (above 90 F degrees) or very cold (below 32 F degrees) temperatures? | |
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83% | Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? | |
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82% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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80% | Spend Time Standing - How much does this job require standing? | |
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79% | Physical Proximity - To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? | |
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78% | Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? | |
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78% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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76% | Consequence of Error - How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable? | |
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74% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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73% | Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job? | |
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73% | Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in non-controlled environmental conditions (e.g., warehouse without heat)? | |
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69% | Exposed to Contaminants - How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)? | |
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67% | Deal With External Customers - How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? | |
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66% | Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions - How often does this job require working in cramped work spaces that requires getting into awkward positions? | |
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80% | Duration of Typical Work Week - Number of hours typically worked in one week. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
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92% | Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment - Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft. | |
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90% | Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials. | |
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85% | Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. | |
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85% | Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. | |
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84% | Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles). | |
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83% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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82% | Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. | |
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77% | Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. | |
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71% | Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. | |
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68% | Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
Electrical power-line installers and repairers install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. They also may erect poles or transmission towers.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers typically do the following:
Electrical power-line installers and repairers install and maintain the power grid: the network of cables and wires that moves electricity from generating plants to consumers. They routinely work with high-voltage electricity, which requires extreme caution.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers who maintain the interstate power grid work on crews that travel throughout a region to service transmission lines and towers. Those who are employed by local utilities maintain equipment such as transformers, voltage regulators, and switches. They also may work on traffic lights and street lights.
Workers generally start a new project by digging underground trenches or erecting utility poles and towers to carry the wires and cables. They use a variety of construction equipment, including trucks equipped with augers and cranes to dig holes and set poles in place.
To identify maintenance needs, electrical power-line installers and repairers check for outage reports from remote monitoring, aerial inspections, and customers.
To fix an electrical power-line problem, workers must first identify the cause through diagnostic testing with specialized equipment. To work on poles, electrical power-line installers usually use bucket trucks to raise themselves to the top of the structure. They sometimes need to climb poles and towers, using special safety equipment to keep from falling.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers held about 122,400 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of electrical power-line installers and repairers were as follows:
| Utilities | 50% |
| Utility system construction | 31 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 11 |
| Specialty trade contractors | 4 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 1 |
The work of electrical power-line installers and repairers can be physically demanding. They must be comfortable working at great heights and in confined spaces. They must be able to climb utility poles and transmission towers, as well as to balance while working on them.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers work outdoors in all types of weather, such as rain or wind when storms and other natural disasters damage power lines, to restore electricity. They often drive utility vehicles, and those who are part of a crew working on interstate power grids may need to travel long distances.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers encounter serious hazards in their jobs and must follow safety procedures to minimize danger.
These workers may be electrocuted if they come in contact with a live cable on a high-voltage power line. When workers engage live wires, they use electrically insulated protective devices and tools to minimize their risk.
To prevent injuries when working on poles or towers, electrical power-line installers and repairers use fall-protection equipment. Safety procedures and training have reduced the danger for electrical power-line installers and repairers.
Most electrical power-line installers and repairers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. In emergencies or after storms and other natural disasters, they may have to travel to impacted areas and work long hours for several days in a row.
To enter the occupation, electrical power-line installers and repairers typically need a high school diploma or equivalent. To become proficient, they typically need technical instruction and on-the-job training. Apprenticeships are common.
Electrical line installers and repairers typically need a high school diploma or equivalent. Employers may prefer to hire candidates who have basic knowledge of algebra and trigonometry. In addition, technical knowledge of electricity or electronics obtained through military service, vocational programs, or community colleges may be helpful.
Some community colleges offer programs for electrical power-line installers and repairers that lead to a 1-year certificate or 2-year associate’s degree. These programs cover topics such as electrical distribution, line construction, and pole top and bucket rescue. The programs also may include an internship or hands-on fieldwork.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers typically complete apprenticeships or other employer-sponsored training programs. These programs, which may last up to 3 years, combine on-the-job training with technical instruction and are sometimes administered jointly by the employer and the union representing the workers.
Qualifications to enter an apprenticeship program may include a high school diploma or equivalent, 1 year of high school algebra or the college-level equivalent, a qualifying score on an aptitude test, and passing a substance abuse screening. Apprentices also may have to meet physical requirements, including passing a fitness test.
Although not mandatory, certification is available for electrical power-line installers and repairers. For example, the Electrical Training Alliance offers certification for electrical power-line installation as part of its apprenticeship program.
Workers who drive heavy vehicles usually need a state-issued commercial driver’s license (CDL). Workers who drive crews that cross state lines need an interstate CDL, which may have additional requirements regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Other requirements, such as medical or other certifications and minimum age, vary by state. Check with your state for more details.
After 3 or 4 years of working, qualified electrical power-line apprentices reach the journey level. A journey-level worker is no longer considered an apprentice and can perform most tasks without supervision.
Experienced electrical power-line installers and repairers may become supervisors or trainers.
Employment of electrical power-line installers and repairers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 9,700 openings for electrical power-line installers and repairers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment of electrical power-line installers and repairers is expected to grow, largely due to increasing electrical grid needs. With each new housing development or business complex, new electric power lines are installed and will require maintenance. The increasing prevalence of electric vehicles will also require more of these workers to install new grid connections. In addition, the interstate power grid will continue to become more complex to ensure reliability.
For details about apprenticeships or other work opportunities in this occupation, contact the offices of the state employment service, the state apprenticeship agency, local unions, or firms that employ electrical power-line installers and repairers. Apprenticeship information is available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship program online or by phone at 1 (877) 872-5627. Visit Apprenticeship.gov to search for apprenticeship opportunities.
For more information about line installers and repairers, visit
American Public Power Association
Center for Energy Workforce Development
For information about certification or training programs, visit
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of electrical power-line installers and repairers.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
Electrical engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacture of electrical equipment. |
Bachelor's degree | $104,610 |
|
Electricians |
Electricians install, maintain, and repair electrical power, communications, lighting, and control systems. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $60,240 |
|
Power Plant Operators, Distributors, and Dispatchers |
Power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers control the systems that generate and distribute electric power. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $97,570 |
|
Telecommunications Technicians |
Telecommunications technicians install, maintain, and repair radio, internet, and other telecommunications infrastructure. |
See How to Become One | $60,190 |