5). Information Interview: The Person I am interviewing is Sherrie –Line worker. 1) | Tell me about your job. Is what you do different in any way from what others in your occupation do?

I am a journeyman line worker. I install, repair, and maintain overhead and under head power lines, which is typical of all journeyman line workers.

My role is that of a foreman. Part of what I do involves teaching the next generation of line workers. I make sure they have the proper skills to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. | | | 2) | Can you tell me about your background and how you got into this field?

I attended a college and completed an apprenticeship program. I started out doing line work in the Navy and was attracted to the field because of the money and the challenge. I have been a line worker for 26 years. | | | 3) | What personal characteristics are required for someone to be successful in your job?

Perseverance is important. This is a very tough, high-risk job. It is a very exciting career and no two days are the same. But a line worker should have physical and mental stamina because you work in dangerous situations. If you make a mistake working with 120-125,000 volts of electricity, you could die. | | | 4) | How much job security is there for people in your field?

For those who work for a utility company, you can expect to have a lifetime with an employer. If you work for a construction company, then your job can last anywhere from 1 day to 10 years. There is job security in this field. It’s possible to find a job with another employer once your job ends or if you decide you want to work for another company. However, in some cases, it may require you to relocate. | | | 5) | What other jobs could you do with the skills you have gained in this field?

There are many other jobs a line worker could transition to. These jobs include those of a truck driver, electrician, tree trimmer, equipment operator, engineer, or project manager. Our work includes inside wiring, engineering, and trimming trees. In some instances one may have to further his or her education to transition to a new job.

A line worker could also become an instructor and train new apprentices. | | | 6) | What do you think the future holds for people in your occupation?

Technology is changing our job. There is new equipment being introduced, such as fault-finders, high and low voltage testers, and cable locating equipment. The technology makes our job safer and easier. There are also fibre optic switches. Someone at a power control centre could flip the switch and we don’t have to physically operate the switch. | | | 7) | What are the biggest challenges in your job?

As a line worker, you are put in a position of making split-second decisions that may or may not cost you your life or those of ground personnel and pedestrians. You are put in that position because you are well-trained to make the right decisions through your apprenticeship and experience as a journeyperson lineman. | | | 8) | Are there many opportunities in your field? What should people do to get started?

There are opportunities for those who want to enter this field, but you have to stick with the apprenticeship and follow through. You should be willing to travel to look for new work.

If you want to become a line worker, there are several things you can do. You can join a local union, attend a line worker program at college, and apply for an apprenticeship program. | | | Likes:“Some of the things that I like about the job that I do is you make fantastic pay, you have great benefits. You can make anything from $100,000 to $200,000 plus, depending on how much overtime you want to work, or the different jobs that you want to work on and where you work at. You get to work with people from all over the world. I’ve worked with people from Germany, from Australia, from South America, so that’s unique. And learning the different things, working from all those different people. And also, when you go out to do a job, you could be doing a different job—three or four different jobs a day. You can be on a helicopter one day—[or] a 400-foot still tower—[and] in an underground vault, doing underground work the next day. So it’s unique. You get to work on a lot of different things. No two jobs are ever the same.” Dislikes: “About the only thing I found that I dislike is occasionally, like in the dead of winter or the hottest part of the summer, when you have massive power outages, you could be in the snow, freezing your ‘bourgeois’ off for two or three days at a time. And same thing in the summer time, when it gets really hot and you have power outages. So that’s the part that’s not so fun. The other part is politics. There are still some people in this trade that don’t like a woman working in this trade. And the one that I dislike the most is if you’re working storm work and you have 240,000 customers out of power, and you’re working 24 hours straight, you don’t get to spend that time with your family. So they miss you.”Advice: “The best advice I can give someone coming into this trade is to stick with it: to have the tenacity to want to succeed and to finish your apprenticeship and become a journeyman lineman. The environment 30 years ago was more old schools. They didn’t really want women in the trade. There’s still some of that in the trade now, but the younger group that’s coming in now are more supportive and they’ve moved into the 21st century, as I like to put it. And it’s a fantastic career. It’s a great opportunity; it’s a great job. And if you wanted to come into this trade, the best advice I can give you is stick with it. Be stubborn. There’s no such word as ‘no’. There’s no such word as ‘can’t’. It’s ‘I can be a journeyman lineman and I will.A day in the life:7:00 am – 8:30 am
I assign a job. On a normal line crew day, there might be a pole change-out. Head out to the job site.
8:30 am – 9:30 am
Arrive at the job site at 8:30 am. As a foreman, I lead the way for a caravan of trucks. My crew and I park the vehicles and put out cones and signs. There is a job site briefing and everyone signs to acknowledge they’ve understood the job.
9:30 am – 10:00 am At 9:30 am, I set up the bucket truck. The tools get laid out. And then the crew and I begin work. We will stay at a job site until it is finished. This can be anywhere from 8 to 20 hours.
10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Work at the job site.
4:30 pm – 4:35 pm
I go home at 4:30 pm if the job is done, but may stay on site for a few days until the job is done. Activity | Hours | Working by yourself | | Working with co-workers | | Serving customers / clients | | Working with numbers | | Writing or drawing | | Making or creating things | | Running machinery | | On the phone | | Using computers | | Working outside | | Working inside | | Working at a desk | | On your feet | | Doing physical work | | Travelling | | | | |