Early Years
When I was 16 years old, I worked as a summer helper at a small municipality with its own electric department. A job opportunity came up right after high school, and I took it. I decided I wanted more, so I applied for ALBAT and was super lucky to get in right away. After working outside construction out of IBEW Local 51 for seven-and-half years, I took a position at Ameren Illinois in 2008. I’ve been here ever since. The reason I fell in love with the trade is working outdoors and in a different location almost every day.
Day in the Life
When you move from working for a contractor to a utility, responsibilities change. I went from mainly new construction and rebuilding to mostly maintenance and emergency repairs. Troubleshooting was a new challenge. Currently I’m a crew leader, and we do everything from pole change outs to underground service and anything from sub transmission to streetlights. The most rewarding part of our job is storm restoration and getting the lights on in all conditions.
Safety Lesson
Luckily, I’ve never been near a super serious injury, but I believe in leading safety by example and never asking someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself. I have had friends seriously hurt, and to hear a story about being rescued will always be in the back of my head when teaching apprentices about the importance of hand lines and proper gloves.
Memorable Storm
I’ve been fortunate to go on several hurricanes in my career and have been gone for upwards of 30 days at some points. Conditions change so much. Sometimes you sleep in a nice hotel, and other times, you are in a college gym with no power and 300 other guys. The destruction from storms like that is so widespread, it seems like the work will never end. Here in Illinois, we get quite a few tornadoes, and we can get power on usually in a couple days. For hurricanes, however, it can take weeks, if not months.
Tools and Technology
The battery-powered tools have become a norm in all our trucks, and we love them all. We no longer need to use hand presses. The safety factor in being able to press a button and use one hand and not strain your muscles like the old crimped tools is amazing. New technology with specs and prints on them saves so much paperwork.
Life in the Line Trade
I would 100% would do everything again. I love the trade and love being a lineman. I’m proud to serve my community in storm restoration. Everything you hear now is going electric including cars, trucks, etc. The future in the power industry is rebuilding an old infrastructure to accommodate for more load. Solar farms, wind farms and new power sources are going to need lineworkers to rebuild for the amount of capacity needed. I’m looking forward to being a lineman for a long time.
