Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
Also called: Electrical Lineman, Lineworker, Power Lineman, Service ManInstall or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 23 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 10.3% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 50% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $92,030 | $63,020 to $102,160 | 2,730 |
| Alaska | $92,470 | $61,140 to $120,790 | 490 |
| Arizona | $75,420 | $57,800 to $100,330 | 3,360 |
| Arkansas | $81,450 | $63,440 to $107,900 | 1,510 |
| California | $129,040 | $98,680 to $156,380 | 8,930 |
| Colorado | $103,980 | $74,450 to $121,200 | 2,370 |
| Connecticut | $126,850 | $90,740 to $131,180 | 940 |
| Delaware | $97,180 | $76,000 to $106,590 | 330 |
| District of Columbia | $101,240 | $84,170 to $132,200 | 150 |
| Florida | $86,870 | $63,810 to $103,680 | 6,420 |
| Georgia | $80,080 | $61,140 to $100,770 | 4,960 |
| Guam | $64,650 | $55,660 to $73,660 | 50 |
| Hawaii | $134,340 | $99,170 to $135,510 | 600 |
| Idaho | $125,410 | $99,040 to $128,090 | 860 |
| Illinois | $108,120 | $101,620 to $126,440 | 3,090 |
| Indiana | $102,040 | $73,060 to $109,570 | 2,540 |
| Iowa | $100,200 | $79,860 to $103,490 | 1,390 |
| Kansas | $101,620 | $71,460 to $111,690 | 1,610 |
| Kentucky | $77,020 | $59,170 to $95,020 | 2,930 |
| Louisiana | $76,410 | $53,410 to $100,390 | 2,520 |
| Maine | $83,090 | $63,440 to $103,640 | 1,160 |
| Maryland | $106,090 | $78,930 to $116,030 | 1,830 |
| Massachusetts | $110,210 | $94,370 to $126,040 | 2,350 |
| Michigan | $106,890 | $85,050 to $125,050 | 2,800 |
| Minnesota | $104,180 | $90,730 to $115,740 | 2,190 |
| Mississippi | $75,890 | $50,480 to $91,530 | 2,290 |
| Missouri | $96,360 | $75,040 to $102,610 | 3,440 |
| Montana | $110,320 | $87,090 to $118,820 | 680 |
| Nebraska | $92,150 | $71,810 to $108,570 | 1,490 |
| Nevada | $96,560 | $65,250 to $125,720 | 920 |
| New Hampshire | $102,170 | $78,670 to $120,600 | 560 |
| New Jersey | $121,580 | $99,860 to $123,740 | 1,310 |
| New Mexico | $76,470 | $58,980 to $96,000 | 1,020 |
| New York | $121,280 | $82,560 to $134,320 | 5,840 |
| North Carolina | $77,270 | $60,490 to $100,310 | 5,650 |
| North Dakota | $105,870 | $82,880 to $114,820 | 740 |
| Ohio | $93,150 | $73,510 to $104,200 | 4,260 |
| Oklahoma | $76,010 | $60,300 to $98,060 | 3,290 |
| Oregon | $131,090 | $106,530 to $139,920 | 1,640 |
| Pennsylvania | $106,230 | $92,030 to $117,940 | 4,150 |
| Puerto Rico | $77,050 | $61,020 to $80,030 | 600 |
| Rhode Island | $104,620 | $77,920 to $122,640 | 120 |
| South Carolina | $76,870 | $60,200 to $95,430 | 2,690 |
| South Dakota | $97,310 | $87,490 to $103,280 | 740 |
| Tennessee | $83,660 | $66,190 to $96,980 | 3,900 |
| Texas | $78,940 | $60,150 to $99,110 | 17,280 |
| Utah | $101,220 | $64,530 to $121,260 | 1,030 |
| Vermont | $108,520 | $96,920 to $121,020 | 270 |
| Virginia | $76,590 | $60,740 to $100,460 | 2,920 |
| Washington | $133,060 | $107,620 to $136,850 | 2,340 |
| West Virginia | $83,810 | $64,450 to $107,260 | 1,260 |
| Wisconsin | $105,820 | $82,150 to $112,150 | 2,520 |
| Wyoming | $93,860 | $62,560 to $108,690 | 670 |
Nationally: $95,320. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 23 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas. | Not published |
| Not much | Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites. | Not published |
| Not much | Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs. | Not published |
| Not much | Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches. | Not published |
| Not much | Coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers. | under 0.01% |
See all 23 tasks
| Not much | Replace or straighten damaged poles. | Not published |
| Not much | String wire conductors and cables between poles, towers, trenches, pylons, and buildings, setting lines in place and using winches to adjust tension. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment to locate and identify problems, using reading and testing instruments. | Not published |
| Not much | Dig holes, using augers, and set poles, using cranes and power equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Attach cross-arms, insulators, and auxiliary equipment to poles prior to installing them. | Not published |
| Not much | Install watt-hour meters and connect service drops between power lines and consumers' facilities. | Not published |
| Not much | Travel in trucks, helicopters, and airplanes to inspect lines for freedom from obstruction and adequacy of insulation. | Not published |
| Not much | Identify defective sectionalizing devices, circuit breakers, fuses, voltage regulators, transformers, switches, relays, or wiring, using wiring diagrams and electrical-testing instruments. | Not published |
| Not much | Splice or solder cables together or to overhead transmission lines, customer service lines, or street light lines, using hand tools, epoxies, or specialized equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Trim trees that could be hazardous to the functioning of cables or wires. | Not published |
| Not much | Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks. | Not published |
| Not much | Test conductors, according to electrical diagrams and specifications, to identify corresponding conductors and to prevent incorrect connections. | Not published |
| Not much | Place insulating or fireproofing materials over conductors and joints. | Not published |
| Not much | Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduit running through the trenches. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut trenches for laying underground cables, using trenchers and cable plows. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean, tin, and splice corresponding conductors by twisting ends together or by joining ends with metal clamps and soldering connections. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut and peel lead sheathing and insulation from defective or newly installed cables and conduits prior to splicing. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 23 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 23 tasks fall under 17 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools | |||
| Test performance of equipment or systems | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Assemble equipment or components | |||
| Perform general construction or extraction activities | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques |
Show all 17 activities
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Monitor safety or security of work areas, facilities, or properties | |||
| Repair electrical or electronic equipment | |||
| Install commercial or production equipment | |||
| Climb equipment or structures | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An email or message36%
- An analysis or summary14%
- A document or report11%
- A plan or strategy11%
- A script or snippet8%
How they worked with Claude
83% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for electrical power-line installers and repairers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 2,614 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 2 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 7%
- 3 Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers Moderate +2.5% 5%
- 5 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 2,120 moves in
- 1 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 5%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 3 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 5%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 4%
- 5 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers Moderate +2.5% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 18% less than high school
- 50% high school
- 19% postsecondary certificate
- 10% some college
- 3% professional doctorate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 23 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% less than high school
- 43% high school
- 31% some college
- 16% associate's
- 6% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 1,471 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
3 programs: Electrical and Power Transmission Installation/Installer, General, Lineworker and Electrical and Power Transmission Installers, Other.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
>99.5% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 53.0% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 20.8% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | 9.4% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 9 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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