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submariner
04-19-2006, 08:58 PM
Is there any schools in paticular that set a new hire up above the rest? I am getting out of the military and have wanted to become a lineman for sometime and was wondering what big things do the hiring managers look for.

mscheuerer
04-21-2006, 11:52 AM
Since you didn't elaborate on your military background or what you indeed do in that profession I am going to surmise that you don't know anything about this field and thats the reason you want to goto a school in order to provide a hiring manager with some type of end result in educational values. Simply put, I know in our utility (New Jersey, PSE&G) you are almost shurley bred "in-house". From the time you take your placement C.A.S.T. test to the induction of your employment and start date you are ultimatley trained by other workman, lineman, journeyman, apprentices, etc... You are a grunt! You work your way up, attend classes, recieve formal and informal training, lots of work and time involved. Years! They do majority of all inhouse training. A lot of utilities and co-operatives on the East Coast are like that. You may want to hear some better input from these other guy's involved. The only thing that comes to mind (and it's not an endorsement) that I remember seeing is either the North East (or West?) linemans college? Perhaps some of our friends can steer you better.

Regards,

Mike


Still interested?

Uma
04-22-2006, 02:50 PM
You will have to take the c.a.s.t test first.It is a standard in the industry.The trick is:if it is 50 questions it is better to answer only the ones you know the answer to.Say you answer 45 and get 43 right you score better than if you try to answer all 50 and miss say 6.They score you on the number you answer,not on all the questions.I hope I said that right.So dont guess on the ones you dont know.You are better not answering than getting them wrong.
There are some formal schools around that you end up with a 2 year degree when you finish but the trade off is not getting your time started at a company or local as in service years.If you have an apprentice starting at the company the same time you start school when you get to the company he will probally be a head of you because of his time in service.Kinda like the Navy.Time in service helps.

tramp67
04-24-2006, 12:57 AM
You didn't say if you want to work for a utility or for contractors. If you like lots of adventure, and don't mind travelling, at least while in an apprenticeship, defiinitely go the contractor route. Go union, go IBEW! To find out where the nearest apprenticeship program is, and for lots of other information about the union apprenticeship, go to www.njatc.org and there is all kinds of information and links on that site. If you don't know much about the NJATC apprenticeship program, it is a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. There's tons of work in outside construction (linework), and you will get paid on the job training instead of having to spend a year or more paying to go to school somewhere and then having to go through an apprenticeship program anyway. There are some good line schools out there, I went through one myself. But with all the work out there now, and you having at least a few years work history under your belt from the military, you should have no problem getting in the apprenticeship program. After completing the NJATC apprenticeship and becoming a journeyman lineman, if you decide to work for a utility, most utilities would be glad to hire you, although some will start you as a lower class until you get familiar with their procedures, their system, etc. Also, if you go to work for a utility, some of the apprenticeship programs make you pay a pro-rated amount to help recover some of the costs of the apprenticeship program. Of course, many utilities will end up reimbursing you for that too, because it is cheaper for them to take journeymen from the contractors than it is for them to hire and train their own apprentices. Good Luck!

submariner
04-26-2006, 01:47 AM
Thank you guys for all of the great advice. I knew that I will have to start out as a grunt, but comming from the submarine environment that is not a big culture shock. I really appreciate the tips on the C.A.S.T. and the NJACT link. I just wanted to say thanks on giving me a pretty good place to start from.
To satisfy curiousity I am a strategic weapons navigation technician. I have been to a number of advanced schools, but as most of you that have been in the military know, is that you have a basic understanding and will get the rest of your knowledge on the job.
From everything I hear is that the lineman trade has about the same camaraderie that we have in the submarine enviorment and I look forward to doing some traveling and meeting new challenges. I am not sure what way I am going to go as far as utility or contractors but I really appreciate tramp67 sharing that peice of knowledge and how things work a bit.
If it is not to bold to ask...what is the most unbearable part of being an apprentice and things to look out for? I feel pretty confident that I won't have much problems but it is nice to know the boundraries of what to and not to put up with so your not walked all over.

graybeard
05-14-2006, 10:26 PM
From an old MM2(SS) I hope you can find a good place to get started. Most utilitys have in house programs and will train you but you have to get your foot in the door. I started in the power house and bid out. It would be faster to go the union route, the NJATC is a good program its the one I went through. Another way would be to use your GI bill and go to trade school.
GOOD LUCK