---
title: "Transmission Lineworker"
description: "Builds and maintains the high-voltage transmission lines and steel towers that carry power across long distances from generating plants to substations."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/transmission-lineworker"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Transmission Lineworker

**Category:** Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · **SOC code:** 49-9051 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 49-9051.00

Builds and maintains the high-voltage transmission lines and steel towers that carry power across long distances from generating plants to substations.

Also advertised as: Transmission Lineman; Journeyman Transmission Lineman; High Voltage Transmission Lineworker; Transmission Line Technician.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $95,320 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $45.83/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $51,470 to $128,690, with the middle half between $67,270 and $109,740
- **Total US employment:** 131,070
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +10.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 10,900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 76/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 131,070 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $51,470 |
| 25th | $67,270 |
| 50th (median) | $95,320 |
| 75th | $109,740 |
| 90th | $128,690 |
| Mean (average) | $91,970 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HI | $134,340 | $122,182 | 600 |
| WA | $133,060 | $124,340 | 2,340 |
| OR | $131,090 | $126,827 | 1,640 |
| CA | $129,040 | $116,546 | 8,930 |
| CT | $126,850 | $122,430 | 940 |
| ID | $125,410 | $131,328 | 860 |
| NJ | $121,580 | $111,741 | 1,310 |
| NY | $121,280 | $112,378 | 5,840 |
| MT | $110,320 | $116,562 | 680 |
| MA | $110,210 | $104,211 | 2,350 |
| VT | $108,520 | $110,782 | 270 |
| IL | $108,120 | $108,165 | 3,090 |
| MI | $106,890 | $111,093 | 2,800 |
| PA | $106,230 | $108,873 | 4,150 |
| MD | $106,090 | $101,078 | 1,830 |

38 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 53 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/transmission-lineworker/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/transmission-lineworker.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 131,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 145,500 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 13,600 jobs, or +10.3%. Much faster than average: 10.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 10,900 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Long-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 50.3% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 18.9% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 18.1% |
| Some College Courses | 9.9% |
| First Professional Degree | 2.8% |

## What the work involves

- Erect and assemble steel lattice towers and transmission structures
- String, pull and sag high-voltage conductor using tensioners and pullers
- Replace insulators, spacers, dampers and other line hardware
- Perform energized line work using hot sticks or barehand methods where qualified
- Install protective grounds and follow switching orders before work begins
- Climb towers and operate aerial lifts and line trucks
- Inspect lines for damage and report defects to engineers
- Perform rescue drills and follow job briefings on every task

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Troubleshooting — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Building and Construction — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.58 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.99 |
| I — Investigative | 2.66 |
| S — Social | 1.28 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 90.8 |
| ESTJ | 79.6 |
| ISTP | 76.5 |
| ISFJ | 71.0 |
| ESTP | 65.9 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Electrical Power-Line Installer and Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-power-line-installer-and-repairer) — median $95,320
- [Telecommunications Line Installer and Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/telecommunications-line-installer-and-repairer) — median $74,330
- [Helpers--Electrician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-electrician) — median $42,670
- [Electrician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrician) — median $63,190
- [Electrical and Electronics Repairer, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-repairer-powerhouse-substation-and-relay) — median $103,020
- [Hoist and Winch Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator) — median $56,450
- [Electrical and Electronics Installer and Repairer, Transportation Equipment](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-installer-and-repairer-transportation-equipment) — median $84,890
- [Signal and Track Switch Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/signal-and-track-switch-repairer) — median $92,460
- [Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electric-motor-power-tool-and-related-repairer) — median $56,210
- [Rigger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rigger) — median $62,640

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/transmission-lineworker