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theicemanpon
06-01-2006, 07:12 AM
first and foremost hat's off to all of you apprentice and lineman in general.
i am 44 y.o. and weight aprox 280 lbs. and i am 6'1" tall.i have an oral interview coming up with the local utility company for lineman apprentice job.this is a job i have been waiting for a long time and am very excitted about it.do you think the weight and age will be a negative factor in order to be pick for the job.talking to local lineman they tell me last year they hired a 47 y.o fellow.i been doing industrial maintenance for ten years and where i work is very critical to be agil.so physical work is not an issue.

thank's
theiceman :confused:

Trampbag
06-01-2006, 03:13 PM
Check out the hooks you use. Many have a weight restriction.

Get on a wood pole transmission project and weight won’t be a problem any more.

theicemanpon
06-01-2006, 08:43 PM
i will do that(check weight restriction)
talking to a friend lineman he tells me if i get pass the oral interview he will lend me his climbing hook's and will take me out to practice.geting on top of the big toothpick as he say's.looking forward to the next step in the interview process.

IT TAKE'S FINESS TO RIDE A HARLEY AND BALL'S TO BE A LINEMAN!!!

theicemanpon
06-07-2006, 06:58 AM
any experience lineman or apprentice's please post comments.it will help me a lot to get to know the job better.

Koga
06-07-2006, 07:25 PM
And ya wanna know if your age is gonna be a factor in the hiring ? If they hired a 47 year old as an apprentice ,they must be real hard up for help.You stated your 44 yrs old and weigh in at 280 lb. I dont mean to burst your bubble , but I don't think you realize exactly what it is we do. Ive been doin it for 26 years and at the age of 51, I am trying to slow down a little so I can walk on my own two legs when I retire. Where are you from ? Does it get real hot or real cold. Right now in Baton Rouge where I work the temp is averaging around 95 with about 98% humidity. When you get those hooks from your freind, pick a nice hot day with no wind or breeze, wear a long sleeve work shirt and gloves. Start at 7:00am and find one of those dripping black beauties in a asphalt parking lot.Saddle up and be sure you have 15 extra lbs. of tools in your belt. Now get your ass up the pole fat boy at least to the telephone line and dont come down untill lunch time. And while your up there dont stop moving. They dont pay you to look good. Hey you *&%76%#46d& turn that other hand loose and strectch out backwards we pay you for both hands.Stretch out at least 6ft so you can work the end of that arm.I'll give ya a hint to help ya since your new ,step up in your belt,no dont turn loose of that wire your holding to grab the pole or your belt just step up.Ok after ya been up there at least till 11:45 am I'll let ya come down early and cool of a minute to get ready to eat lunch. But at 12:30 I wanna see ass holes and elbows up there.Same stuff, don't stop .At 2:30 you can come down.This will give you a better idea of what your gettin into.The rest of this is what could / has happened after all day on the pole.
Ya get ready to head back to the yard and clean the truck and restock for tommorrow.The radio goes off ! An eighteen wheeler just hung a guy trying to get out of a parking lot .Pulled a 50ft corner pole down with bucks and 3 phase 336 lookin both ways down.The poles on each side are broke and on the ground, one about 6 ft up and the other was rotten at the ground.One has a 3 pot bank of 300 kvas,straight 480 , 500 cu buss on it feeding a paralell 500 service. The rotten one has a 2 pot bank ,a 100 and a 50 kva,120/240. And this is a trunk feeder. What? You say you have some plans for the evening? Tough shit, we have some real plans for you right now ! Its called grab a pair of post hole diggers and dig a new 7ft hole because we cant pull the old stubb its to rotten to get out .Cant use the auger, too much shit in the ground and no locates.And after the new black beauty is set wanna guess who gets to saddle up ? The bucket ? Oh hell no thats for your senior lineman,the 26 year old first class man thats been here since he got out of high school. Now get your ass back up that pole.What? You got a bobo right below your knee and its raw and bleeding. So ! Do I look like your mama or nurse, quit your whinning and get your fat ass back up the pole. Dont come down till its all up and ready to be energized 9:30pm. Get back to the yard about 10:30pm. Knock off time is finally here. Good job today see ya in the morning . I do recommend the top part, just as written. Then come back and tell me ya still want to be a lineman.

Koga

theicemanpon
06-07-2006, 08:22 PM
lineman for a lot of year's and well experience is the word to describe you.I am in california central valley (average summer temp between 90 to 103 -average winter temp's between 30 to 45 day time 28 to 30 night's) not mentioning "0" visibility during fog season.you are correct i am a bit overweight however skills are not measured by weight alone.I have to climb 65 feet tall silos and once on top of the crows nest we need to lift a 10 horse motors by hand average weight of motor is 90 lbs.after that and after corn flow is establish then you go inside the production plant and begin to pull a metal belt that weight's 17 lbs per feet and by the way the belt is 36 feet long (that is 612 lbs total).after you finish the P.M. for the product oven then you put your confined space equipment and crawl down the corn pit to do another pm in the unloading equipment.(corn pit is about 15 feet deep and only one way in one way out).how many time's have you called in sick in 16 years.me try "0" that's right 16 years without been late or absent at all.I understant you take great pride in your job but so am I.If you have done linework all your life then you do not understant the world of industrial maintenance and what's required from a line mechanic that has to deal with electricity and steam all day long. you are very lucky to be doing line work.You have my upmost admiration and respect.

old lineman
06-07-2006, 09:17 PM
lineman for a lot of year's and well experience is the word to describe you.I am in california central valley (average summer temp between 90 to 103 -average winter temp's between 30 to 45 day time 28 to 30 night's) not mentioning "0" visibility during fog season.you are correct i am a bit overweight however skills are not measured by weight alone.I have to climb 65 feet tall silos and once on top of the crows nest we need to lift a 10 horse motors by hand average weight of motor is 90 lbs.after that and after corn flow is establish then you go inside the production plant and begin to pull a metal belt that weight's 17 lbs per feet and by the way the belt is 36 feet long (that is 612 lbs total).after you finish the P.M. for the product oven then you put your confined space equipment and crawl down the corn pit to do another pm in the unloading equipment.(corn pit is about 15 feet deep and only one way in one way out).how many time's have you called in sick in 16 years.me try "0" that's right 16 years without been late or absent at all.I understant you take great pride in your job but so am I.If you have done linework all your life then you do not understant the world of industrial maintenance and what's required from a line mechanic that has to deal with electricity and steam all day long. you are very lucky to be doing line work.You have my upmost admiration and respect.

Message for the newbe.
The very first thing you've got to learn to do is forget about pulling 90 lbs. up to yourself.
That's a grunts job.
Use a pulley handline. You've got enough on your plate to assemble everything once it arrives at your elbow.
Bull strength and ignorance has gone the way of the do-do bird.
The Old Lineman

theicemanpon
06-07-2006, 10:16 PM
you are right and thank's for the reply.the gentleman from baton rouge is making me worried about not been considered for the job becouse the age thing.what do you think?

Koga
06-08-2006, 06:24 AM
to worry you. Im trying to let you understand what your in for if you get the job.The long odd hours, gettin up out of your nice warm bed at 2 in the morning to go climb a pole in the ally in the cold freezing rain,while some irrate asshole is raggin ya about thier lights bein out. Putting your plans aside for days ,sometimes for months at a time.But it does have its good points and rewards you'll find in NO OTHER JOB in the world, I wouldn't go back and change a thing. I wish you good luck and hope ya make it ,let us know how ya do.

Koga

theicemanpon
06-08-2006, 09:12 AM
you belong to a special brotherhood and believe me i want this so bad i could taste it.i am use to the long hours believe me.i talk to a local lineman (journeyman )and he ask me the same.when i told him in 2005 i only took 7 weekend's off the entired year he told me "boy you was born to be a lineman" then i ask him why?he told me last year he work about a quarter of that in o.t. ,and that was pushing it.all in all i admire people like you that give its all for the sake of people who do not apreciate your effort.

THANK'S FOR THE WORD OF WISDOM AND HONESTY.
believe me i want this with all my heart.