Best thing about being a lineman

[iwlv433]

Hey guys list the top 5 best things and the tops 5 worst things about your career as outside lineman

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmmmm Bestest
sense of pride after restoring power in a storm
Finding a nice fat paycheck waitin on ya
Training an apprentice to become a standout
satisfaction of overcoming insurmountable obstacles n get the job done
Drinkin a beer or 10 with your fellow linemen
Ummmmm werstest
Being called out moments before yer kids birthday party starts
Spending Christmas day humpin poles
Seeing your working buddies get layed off
Dealing with customers
Having to extend a mans bad fortune by cuttin his lights off for non pay

[reppy007]

best......that sense of pride that Poot refered to
nice paychecks......can afford a nice home....eating at nice places,ect
teaching youngsters
women........they love lineman
working around danger
meeting thousands of customers.....few beers with the guys after a long days work
worst......away from family during holidays
being threatened about call-outs......childish
running out of vacation in the last part of the year.......if the weather goes south
seeing people get promoted,when they dont deserve it
seeing good workers get the axe

[bren guzzi]

GOOD

1 all the travel
2 the work mates
3 overcoming adversity
4 pride in doing a good job
5 doing something that not many could handle

BAD

1 being away from home and loved ones.
2 weather
3 dealing with Bull.
4 long days and nights
5 why are all the poles uphill from the road. ?

[T-Man]

Best

1. Being able to work outside especially in spring and fall

2. getting good enough at your work to come up with a solution and make it work

3. Putting the power on and having the customers cheer the good deed.

4. Working with a great partner who knows what your up to and you know what they'll do and getting the job done right, safe and quick especially in cold cold weather.

5. Driving past lines you helped construct and seeing how straight and clean the line looks.

5a. The pay was great too.

Worst

1. Having a buddy injured or worse doing this work.

2. Having to follow up on another dudes job because he's not doing what needs to be done.

3. Working weird shifts, weekends, Birthdays and Holidays away from family.

4. Waiting for the dispatcher to call back with switching orders when the customers are banging on your truck window wanting to know when the power will be back on.

5. Going to car pole accidents and finding the driver is still in the vehicle all messed up and the FD/PD wanting the power off before they can get them out.

[aviewfrom]

This thread and the responses about pride and getting people back in power reminded me of a story, I believe, I read here. About a lineman who was working and a little boy home sick was watching everything that was going on... wish I could remember the whole story. It was a great story and a bit of a tear jerker and really showed how great it can be being a lineman.

[reppy007]

This thread and the responses about pride and getting people back in power reminded me of a story, I believe, I read here. About a lineman who was working and a little boy home sick was watching everything that was going on... wish I could remember the whole story. It was a great story and a bit of a tear jerker and really showed how great it can be being a lineman.

Let us know if you find that story......Id like to read it..and Im sure the other people here will like to read it too....................t-Man brought back a funny memory.............people coming up to your window while your on the radio,and writing down a switching order.............they knock.....and knock.............like they cant see that your busy.:D

[Pootnaigle]

Umm or the Ones that stand in their driveway and get all upset when they see you stop at the linefuse That you know darn well hasta be blown from the number of calls and continually motion you to Comere , The transformer is in my back yard kinda crap.. Or the sweet lil ole lady who listens to every word you say, gets it All WRONG and then , screams bluddy murder when an unscupulous narrowback rips her off. Or the experts that see a pole leaning slightly and are positive its gonna fall directly on their house in mere moments, very often the folks scared to death because a cable tv drop is hanging within reach of their 19 yr old kid.
A great many of the things these people want repaired immediately I would also like fixed But the simple truth is You know dern well it aint likely to happen soon if ever,
If you dont understand it, when you are driving that Company truck YOU are the power company as far as those customers are concerned, and they aint cuttin you no slack. Little do they realize That your stroke often aint as great as theirs

[duckhunter]

LIKES
1) Love working outside
2) Always a sense of satisfacion seeing something started and completed
3) I mostly worked with great guys
4) Always liked the adrenelin during storm restoration
5) Nice to do work others don't understand
DISLIKES
1) Patrolling a line at night through a pasture that keeps the largest herd of Bison east of the Mississippi.
2) Meetings just for meetings sake
3) Using an uninsulated ladder truck with electric controls as a bucket (truck is long gone)
4) Not being able to work for a week because of a bad case of poison ivy
5) Working with a guy that worked harder at getting out of work that just doing it

[aviewfrom]

Let us know if you find that story......Id like to read it..and Im sure the other people here will like to read it too....................t-Man brought back a funny memory.............people coming up to your window while your on the radio,and writing down a switching order.............they knock.....and knock.............like they cant see that your busy.:D

I found it but it was on another website I won't post here, but if you want to read it PM me and I'll give you the link. Warn you though it's more of a tear jerker than I remembered.

[Pootnaigle]

Darn Ducky you reminded me of the guy that had an exotic animule farm wiffa lectric gate and a line fuse located just inside of it. You hadda go in and he hadda ostrich that wuz one mean SOB. there i wud be fightin a long stick wiffa mean ostrich bitin my laigbone n my butt. He wuz one meanful kritter. I thunk about makin dinner outta him several times. Them thangs iz strong too . he could make ya drop that fuse door when he hit ya. Eventually I discovered he didint like a light shined in his eyes so I dun my bidness inna dark with the light shining on my behind

[reppy007]

Darn Ducky you reminded me of the guy that had an exotic animule farm wiffa lectric gate and a line fuse located just inside of it. You hadda go in and he hadda ostrich that wuz one mean SOB. there i wud be fightin a long stick wiffa mean ostrich bitin my laigbone n my butt. He wuz one meanful kritter. I thunk about makin dinner outta him several times. Them thangs iz strong too . he could make ya drop that fuse door when he hit ya. Eventually I discovered he didint like a light shined in his eyes so I dun my bidness inna dark with the light shining on my behind

I will admit those ostriches are fiesty....ran into a couple of them.........better guard birds than a pit bull.........they arent too shy......Ill never forget this one old guys eyes.........when we had a storm roll in........even though I had his trouble order for awhile.......he was located a few miles farther then the rest............when I told him that sombody is always going to be last.......and that he happened to be last that day...........he wasnt even near happy about that.:mad:

[aviewfrom]

Oh man, ostriches... A few years ago when I was doing civil work on cell tower sites I was chased around the work truck and shelter house for far longer than I cared for before I was able to jump in the truck. The site was in the middle of this birds pasture which we didn't notice when we entered. It came inside the fence to show his displeasure in us being in his territory, but thankfully walked off shortly after.

[rob8210]

A sign I read in front of a buffalo? farm, I think. If you can cross this field in less than 10 seconds you have a chance, but the buffalo can do it in 8

[birdog37]

Rebuilds,before and after. The sound of praise when closing that line fuse when people have been out for days. Walking away from a backyard storm job when a customer says dont cut that tree or you can take this branch but not that one.Telling them well we need a tree crew then.Start walking away and they say ok do what ever you want just get us back on! Customers giving up cold drinks,food whatever to help take the edge off things especially when you've been working past 16 hours. Going home tired but the same way I came to work........................................ Getting fired for bullsh.. while the company you were dedicated to for 20 plus years decides to fire you instead of retraining lineman,foreman to conform to one of there core values "Safety"?.What a joke.......... Trying to change a lineman, foreman that have been doing it wrong since the foreman trained the apprentice to follow the fuc... rules that unions and company's have established for years.Know wonder why lineman still get killed in this day and age........... Getting stuck in an area without cell phone coverage or radio coverage.......... Trying to find a bad arrester that has not cleared and the 65 amp fuse your closing in is on a 30 foot pole............ Local Unions in bed with the company that continue to make sweetheart deals.

[Bighorn Ape]

A bright future, being up in the air( above the BS ). Traveling, doing work that others won't do and lovin it, working off your hooks, the competition, tons of other cool stuff..

The bad......getting rushed 100% of the time when other crews milk jobs out over and over.

[rob8210]

Best things about being a lineman- building a line and wrecking the old one, doing hot work that makes most people cringe, restoring power to people that really appreciate the effort you put out.
The bad- people that think you owe them power at any cost, really bad drivers messing up a work zone, foreman that hardly have a clue

[RadonHuffer]

Working in the fresh air and sunshine all day.

The rare glimpse of lightning or equipment failure.

Being the guy that police, fire and rescue are waiting for at 0300 hours because some drunk hit a pole and nobody is doing a thing because their are wires down.

The chance to get on with one good crew, I am a firm believer in a hard days work for a fair pay. I can be the little pre-madonna ***** up in the bucket that can make you feel like a maggot ass on the ground or be working a shovel down there with you in the mud. At the end of the day its about who I am working with more than what I am doing all day. If you easygoing and happy its a much better day than working with folks you cant turn your back on.

Having the locals dragging your bucket through the field with there 4WD tractors in the early spring to get the lights back on and the home cooked meal that there wonderful lady's prepared for us during that ice storm.

The money is pretty good too.


Minus side.

Working for a municipality for 8 years after you where told you could get your card in 90 days after you hired in and making no progress because the management is a bunch of affirmative action hood rats that replaced the people that had a clue.:mad: The long winded lecture about what the white man has been doing to the black man was the last straw!

Getting shot at by crack dealers while doing streetlight repairs and having to deal with getto cops that really dont understand the fact that if I had taken a bullet I would have parked a 36,000 pound bucket truck on the shooters ass.:mad:

Starting on a new crew and having some young pup right out of line school that gets himself hurt all the time acting like he is a climbing god.

Working as a temp on a crew where they seem to have more slack safety rules for the temps then they do for there buddies.

[reppy007]

I know its an older thread and all but back to the title....the best thing is loving what your doing,just ask your other friends who do other things......ask them if they truely love their job.Not too many people can say they do. Speaking for myself,it sucks doing jobs that anyone can do.It sucks having a job that isnt related to a trade.I could be wrong,but I think Im right,at least in my case.

[THE KID]

Reppy,
You are correct I'm different from alot of people. I honestly enjoy getting up and going to work every day. I work with some Great guys and I don't know what I'm going to do when I retire because I will still be young when I retire at 50. Maybe try to be a trackhoe operator.

[reppy007]

As I get older I often wonder if there is really such a thing of golden years.....or is it like the easter-bunny...Santa or happily ever after....yes they might be golden if your sitting on a pot of gold or owned fort knox :D.....but Ive never seen anybody that lucky...Im not complaining. I think lots of lineman can understand that being a good lineman and enjoying it is like a pot of gold...Some guys that are still working dont know how good they have it,thats sad.

[rob8210]

Well fellas I have to agree, its a great job, and its not something everyone can do. As for me I really enjoy the work, being outside , in whatever weather, the guys with a sense of humor that are good to work with, and the pride we get when we complete a job, especially the jobs that only a handful of fellas can handle. The part I like best , when someone asks me if a job can be done, right and safe, being able to say yes and being able to back it up. There is no greater felling for me when we pull up to a job and the guys say' how are we gonna do this?' And I come up with a plan and we get er done!!!

[lightman]

I think Poot nailed it for me. That could be my list! I can't count all of the birthdays, holidays, dates, and other stuff that I have missed. But when I look back, its been a pretty good life. If you've been there, you understand. Others won't. I've had some good times on storms, its what you make it. Lightman

[HookinAintEasy]

I love everything about this trade like a dream come true i remember lookin up to lineman when i was younger like most do pro athletes now im one of um! The adrenaline rush when going out on storm being gone from family sucks but the coming back home to her is the best :rolleyes:

[BigClive]

I found it but it was on another website I won't post here, but if you want to read it PM me and I'll give you the link. Warn you though it's more of a tear jerker than I remembered.

Is it the one where the lineman accidentally drops a phase on a little orphan who was halfway through his life story?

[Old Line Dog]

Is it the one where the lineman accidentally drops a phase on a little orphan who was halfway through his life story?

Heh, heh, heh.....You're rotten Clive.:D

[neil macgregor]

All the ***** I got to pump across Europe

[Bighorn Ape]

all the purdy ladies ya get to look at while your working

[linescum]

all the purdy ladies ya get to look at while your working

We did a job in Rehobeth Beach Delaware in the early 90's during prime tourist season.. there were some awesome views.:D and some even awesomer adventures.:D

[Old Line Dog]

all the purdy ladies ya get to look at while your working

Man, I Heard THAT!

Took us almost an Hour on one job, to change out a cutout and arrestor cause this gorgious blond in a bikini was mowin the lawn, right under us....AND then she started trimmin the bushes!!!

I knew she was fcukin with us, so we just finished up and got out of there.:D

[poletop13]

everyone can,t do it
satisfaction of doing the work
meeting new people
all outside work
helping other power companies during storms