Telecomm a better job then Electricity?

[Jltbull]

This is a long post but i need your help. Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone, big fan, and trade hopeful.

Let me explain...im 22 years old, from the Boston,MA area and ive ran a Jet-Vac machine for 5 years now. About 3 years ago my company started doing an account for an big electric company digging holes in congested areas of Boston (I can dig a perfect hole rather then a trench and I can safely expose utilities) to install traffic signal poles. In this time I have met and befriended many linemen from the local 104 union(Unfortunatly contractor linemen travel and I have a new home and a young family). As though it was willed by god, National Grid just happened to open a new school program that promises a opportunity at a local, stable Line job if I'm able to do well in the program.

The program can be found at http://www.middlesex.mass.edu/eut_web/

Im already signed up and I was able to get one of the few seats available..so far so good. I would Appreciate if you could take a look and comment

Last but not least many websites and people have informed me that Verizon pays better and has better beneifits to work with Telephone lines, then NStar/National Grid does to work with Powerlines. Now common sense would dictate you paying someone more to climb/bucket higher and work with high voltage then to work with phone lines?

At the seminar they told me lineworkers for NG were making 35-38/hr after benefits at the journeyman lvl. Does anyone know the statistics for the Verizon/Telecomm guys? and can anyone comment on this please?

Also at the seminar they did'nt touch base on exact retirement benefits but I also heard theres no longer a pension for NG workers?Do you still get one through the IBEW I hope?

[electric squirrel]

They can train monkeys to do phone work!!!!!!!! Do you want to go home every night smelling like monkey poop? Or do you want to run with the Big Dogs??? Not one phone guy can say he rode the skid of a helicopter or barehanded 500kv!!!! You also dont see any telephonelineman.com websites do you?? If your gonna compare pay,,,I'am just under 100k and we got 5 months left in the year!!! Need I say more???????? E.S.

[dirtdobber]

you know its not just about the money all the time the challenge the danger the brotherhood I could go on.where you gonna go to work that will give you the pride and rite to hold your head up high and still get paid for it. when we go on storm work and some little tike comes out and says to you thank you mister its a feeling you cant disribe in words.

[Orgnizdlbr]

No disrespect to any telephone guys, but they cant carry a real Lineman's bugbag.......

[Jltbull]

no i guess smelling like monkey poo isnt a option?

im already signed up and doing my best too become a powerline worker
did any of you get a chance to look at the program?

linework is way more respectable

i didnt mean that particular aspect to sound like "if they make more im going for telephone"

i ment it more like "what kinda bullshit is this"?

no disrespect to any telephone guys but it just seems as though the powerlinemen should be better taken care of. its the nature of the work and what not.

[NJ glove]

I work in NJ and yes lineman do make more because of the overtime. but the telco guys do just as good hourly. I think us lineman are underpaid for the risk we take. phone guys work with 48vdc and we work gloving 13kv for the same hourly wage. I enjoy being a lineman but we are way underpaid.

[Jltbull]

thanks for making my point NJ

powerlineman is a way more respectable job and its just plain cooler

but for the fact that while driving my truck around the state of MA i see 10 verizon trucks for every 1 Nstar/NG truck
and 9 outta 10 times there in a parkinglot reading the paper or sleeping
and when they do work its no where near as dangerous.

WHY are they making the same money? it makes no common sense.

im thinking it may be hidden in the beneifits somewhere which is why i ask if anyone knows the particalars of the verizon linemens package

[NJ glove]

I worked for verizon for 4 years and their benefits are way better than that of any electric company. They don't pay anything for benefits. full benefits at retirement also. they don't make as much as a lineman with the overtime but their package it much better than most electric companies. Linework is not for everyone, but I can tell you for sure if you want good benefits and a great pension go with verizon. I know people are going to ask why I left. I didn't leave verizon I was layed off in 2003 got my job back a few month later with back pay but I was left with a bad taste for the company and decided to take my current job as a lineman. Can't look back now just make the best of it.

[PK270]

Why dont you go onto a Ford website and ask them what is better Ford or Chevy. For real?? You are asking a question based on money?? Go back to school, the "real lineman" out there do it for reasons that are hard to explain. A sense of pride of being a true journeyman of the craft is what drives most.

NE,NW and Cali are usualy the "big bucks" areas, wont catch me living in any of those. No offense guys. The guys in Cali always brag about how much they make on this forum but probably bitch amoungst themselves about being underpaid. We will never be compensated for what we are really worth.

What is the problem with finding a job you WANT, with pay that you are comfortable with, in an area you want to live? Seems like we are always trying to down each other due to, pay or type of linework we do.

Does either make you less a lineman??

[NJ glove]

pk270 your an idiot. "go back to school" what kind of comment is that. If you have nothing positive to add don't say anything. Real lineman? don't forget its just a job. There's life outside of work and some of us have to make tough decisions based on what life throws our way. I love being a lineman and I'm sure most of us do, but don't you sit there and try to pin us against eachother. We all do it because it's the best we can do and we make it work for us. The kid asked a serious question and was looking for some honest opinions and thats the best you can do. "real lineman" huh you sound like a real winner to work with.