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butterbean
07-20-2007, 08:00 PM
hi,

i am currently enrolled in the oregon tradeswomen inc pre-apprenticeship program and am interested in the lineman trade.

i am going to meet with the OTI career counselor on monday but wanted to ask here for some insight into this career.

it looks like northwest line is currently taking apps for the apprenticeship program.

please tell me more about your career. how was it when you were a newbie apprentice? how have things changed since?

i read some posts about deaths and of course this is scary. what happens? is it lack of training? working too fast and being unsafe?

i am not afraid of hard work but death is somewhat off-putting...


thanks for your replies and for keeping us in lights and heat!

bean

WAlinehand1970
07-20-2007, 10:52 PM
I just sent you a PM. Check it out.

butterbean
07-20-2007, 11:06 PM
WAline,

thanks. i'm PMing back.

butterbean
07-21-2007, 10:08 AM
no one else..?

Meat
07-21-2007, 12:02 PM
Physically speaking females that can do this job and do it right are rare. Could you rescue a 250lb brute off a pole or drag him out of a bucket or vault? Show me this and you're in. Good luck and be safe!

butterbean
07-21-2007, 06:43 PM
i can bench 140 without adrenaline but 250...


see meat, i don't know the safety aspect of the job. guys are harnessed, etc..

i have read up on the training for apprenticeships around here and there is a camp that is required every year from 5-10 days and rescue is part of the training.

next week there is a lineman rodeo in this area that i am going to attend. the events include hurt-man rescue, so i will be able to atleast see what the rescue is and how it is done.

no one wants to put someone else in danger. i worked in a fairly dangerous job the last five years at a papermill. i saw some pretty nasty accidents there and one man was killed on the job. the machines have no mercy whatsoever. the job was also very physically demanding. we worked 12 hr days, sometimes without a break of any kind if there were problems and they could hold you for 16 hrs if needed.

i guess that is why i have posted these questions. i want to know more. i want to make an informed decision.

so have you found yourself in a rescue situation? can you tell me more about it?


thanks meat for your response!


bean

IronLine
07-22-2007, 05:39 PM
Well I spent about 10 minutes writing out one helluva message and then lost my connection. You don't have to be a brute to rescue one. With proper rescue techniques you can let down a 200 something pounder with one hand off a pole, and from a bucket its even easier. Bean I'm down at the Southeastern Lineman Training Center right now, just about done, and from what I've seen, done, and talked to the other fellas about this is a damn amazing career. If you don't mind travelling then I definitely recommend the NW Line JATC. The union apprenticeship program is without a doubt in my mind the best way to get a well rounded experience. You will nail every aspect of this trade by the time you top out. Before I even applied though, I would recommend getting your Class A CDL with combination endorsement, Flaggers Card, First Aid and CPR certifications. Its hard to get high on their list if you have no experience though, from what I've heard at least. If I were you, and you had the money and time I would attend a Pre-Apprenticeship program like SLTC, Northwest Linemans College, or VOLTA which is based down in Portland and is operated by the NW Line JATC. The schools are all around 10-15 weeks long and you learn an incredible amount. If thats not possible, go to your local IBEW hall and sign the out of work list and try to get some time as a groundman. Looks great on the application! Good luck!

Koga
07-23-2007, 10:58 PM
advice sounds like some good things to check out. Ive seen 4 women try thier hand at it since I hired on in 79. 2 made it and 2 shouldn't have even been there in the first place. Were the two that made it both equally capable? No but , niether are some of the guys that get through. Yes they did know or have the knowledge to be, and had the heart to be, but one wasn't physically capable of doin everything.She would give it hell and I never saw anyone ever hesitate to give her that little bit of help because she never backed up. Never heard or saw either one ask for or given any slack just because they were women. That included being talked to, this aint a job for political correctness ya understand. If you want the respect you earn it. They did. Good luck, it is defenitly worth it.

Koga

Pootnaigle
07-24-2007, 09:21 PM
Koga I do seem to remember many years back that yall did have one excellent female lineman. Just curious what became of her.Did she get caught up in the massive Entergy layoff? We had several women try but none ever made it past the apprentice stage.

Koga
07-25-2007, 06:06 AM
One went to work in the substation dept. Then took a job offer from Exxon. Last I heard she was doin fine
The other one won some money in the lottery and used it to start her own buisness, not line related and she is doin fine also.

Koga

CenterPointEX
07-25-2007, 04:44 PM
The biggest problem for the Ladies in this trade is that for the most part they can not open a bin door and do their bussiness... which is a linemans trademark.

butterbean
08-08-2007, 07:46 PM
you guys are too funny! so you just pee off the side of the boom? look out belooooow!!!!! maybe i could take a little pot up there with me. in case of emergency...


so what are the reasons do you think that women start an apprenticeship but don't finish? do they just find it too hard to do? do they get discouraged due to the treatment my the men? are they not smart enough?

i am finding that most places want you to have gone through a lineman school/training/college before you can get an apprenticeship. ugh! i wasn't expecting that. i want to be making money not spending it. but if that is what i have to do, i'll do it.

how did you get into your apprenticeship?

thanks

bean

LostArt
08-08-2007, 07:53 PM
Hello Butterbean. The guys here have missed ya. Can't ya tell? http://www.avowners.com/forum/smileys/laugh004.gif

Swamp has started a post all for you in BS and Political forum. Take a peek when you get a chance, ya hear?

butterbean
08-08-2007, 09:04 PM
thanks LA,

got some of these boys all worked up, i see. lol!

~shrugs~


bean

CenterPointEX
08-08-2007, 09:23 PM
you guys are too funny! so you just pee off the side of the boom? look out belooooow!!!!! maybe i could take a little pot up there with me. in case of emergency...bean Most females quit because of frequent bladder infections... It's not emergencys when we open the bin door and take a whiz... It is every day several times a day... Next time you drive by a line truck take a closer look at that guy standing there with the bin doors open... chances are he is leaking... Bin doors are to lineman what fire hydrants are to dogs...No, we don't pee off the side of the boom... We are way to civil for that... By the way... wanna guess what the term "Hot Soder!" means? That's a term you hear from the top of a tower an hour or two after lunch... If you hear that phrase run... and by all means don't look up. I reckon the boys would enjoy watching you pee off a tower though... They are odd like that. If the guy next to you decides to take a whizzz you try not to look... A Lady Lineman though would be a different story.

Bull Dog
08-08-2007, 11:14 PM
Thats all good till some one get in the truck and decides to move it to the next pole while your there with the bin open. Seen it happen pretty funny.

Squizzy
08-09-2007, 05:12 AM
I sit in the drivers seat at lunch just waiting for the chance to get someone. The mechanics at the utility used to go crazy as that section of the truck had a particular aroma. But if you are feeling particularly obnoxious aim for the exhaust. Worked with a guy a couple of years back and he was in the bucket holding the mains up when the digger broke down on one of those cold windy days. So we tied his lunch on a hauler and sent it up, it included a 600ml chocolate milk, so 2 hours later we were still waiting for it to be fixed and he's up there moaning about the pressure in his bladder. So myself and the leading hand get out a water bottle a start pouring it out and noisily shaking it up after been called many names we gave up only to have a 600ml "water bomb" narrowly miss us....

butterbean
08-10-2007, 06:58 AM
nothing better than a good pee story! lol!!!

gotta watch what you are doing with the bull dog around though it sounds like. might end up giving the 'hood a show.


i never thought about the 'business' issue for you guys, or for myself for that matter. construction sites have the portajohns but you guys....?

my own story would be out trail running. i know it's more than bears who poop in the woods. ~blushing bright red~

Orgnizdlbr
08-10-2007, 07:19 AM
Most females quit because of frequent bladder infections... It's not emergencys when we open the bin door and take a whiz... It is every day several times a day... Next time you drive by a line truck take a closer look at that guy standing there with the bin doors open... chances are he is leaking... Bin doors are to lineman what fire hydrants are to dogs...No, we don't pee off the side of the boom... We are way to civil for that... By the way... wanna guess what the term "Hot Soder!" means? That's a term you hear from the top of a tower an hour or two after lunch... If you hear that phrase run... and by all means don't look up. I reckon the boys would enjoy watching you pee off a tower though... They are odd like that. If the guy next to you decides to take a whizzz you try not to look... A Lady Lineman though would be a different story.

Bladder infections????? WTF, Dr. CP, where do you come up with this crap??!!!

Most quit because the job is too physically demanding, period.

CenterPointEX
08-14-2007, 08:53 PM
Well... OGB... I ain't no doctor... But I do know split tails are prone to bladder infections... Ask Butterbean... ask L.A. etc... I can gaurontee all the split tails on this board have had a bladder infection on more than one occasion... Holding their bladder for prolonged periods is a major cause... Thats just the nature of the species.... and Last split tail I worked with on a line crew quit for that exact reason... Her doctor advised her to get out of the bussiness if she couldn't do her bussiness in a timely fashion... So, I deduced that spending the day in wet pants dribbled in urine causes trouble for the split tails... I may very well be wrong about that OGB... but I gander to say I ain't... Most of the gals I seen out here were of the cock strong persuasion... Ya they didn't have the upper body strength, but they had more piss an viniger than some of the boys I've worked with...

Orgnizdlbr
08-15-2007, 06:38 AM
[quote=CenterPointEX;34241]Well... OGB... I ain't no doctor... But I do know split tails are prone to bladder infections... Ask Butterbean... ask L.A. etc... I can gaurontee all the split tails on this board have had a bladder infection on more than one occasion... Holding their bladder for prolonged periods is a major cause... Thats just the nature of the species.... and Last split tail I worked with on a line crew quit for that exact reason... Her doctor advised her to get out of the bussiness if she couldn't do her bussiness in a timely fashion... So, I deduced that spending the day in wet pants dribbled in urine causes trouble for the split tails... I may very well be wrong about that OGB... but I gander to say I ain't... Most of the gals I seen out here were of the cock strong persuasion... Ya they didn't have the upper body strength, but they had more piss an viniger than some of the boys I've worked with...[/quote,]

Well, I stand corrected, it must be so if a co-worker told you so.......sounds like a load of tripe to me....

Split Tail, cock strong.......where you going with that, really wondering about you lately......

CenterPointEX
08-15-2007, 10:43 PM
[.......where you going with that, really wondering about you lately......... Lately?... I've always been a little off... I dunno... The Censor thing got's me all riled up I reckon... Has me wanting to spew like a lineman with a fresh chaw... One seemingly constant amongst lineman appears to be an engenderment of colorful language... and a passion for split tail viewing... No Ladies... contrary to popular belief them boys leaning out the windows of them linetrucks ain't trying to figure our what color your inspection sticker is...