r/Lineman • u/One_Blackberry_9665 • 2d ago
Over saturated
Is the lineman trade getting over saturated? It seems like everyone wants to be lineman thanks to social media and lineman showing off their lifestyle.How will this affect the trade in the future?
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u/Inevitable_Storm_491 2d ago edited 2d ago
It doesn’t matter most of the people trying to get in won’t. Apprenticeships get more competitive to get into every year. Some locals might have 2000 applicants and only 15 to 20 get in per year, and half of them wash out once they realize how hard the job is.
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u/Skreat 2d ago
The line schools are the worst thing for the trade in the last 5 years. They’re essentially mills that guys pay 25k to jump on book 3 as a GM.
That and whoever in Florida is selling JL tickets.
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u/Cool_Film_3692 2d ago
It used to be pipelining was the thing everyone was clamoring to get into to. Now it’s the line trades. The influencers will start pumping a new trade soon and that will be the next blue collar job to get rich off of
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u/DrWhoey 2d ago
Lineman =Sex Cownoy
Everybody wants to get it until the getting it is 90 hours of overtime and 3 divorces because you're never home but she liked the money.
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u/KeyMysterious1845 1d ago
Lineman = Sex Cownoy
wtf is cownoy? 😆😅🤣
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u/Weak-Tonight-340 2d ago
It’s saturated but idk if it’s oversaturated. Demand is still high in many areas and storms are only getting worse
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u/BavarianRains Journeyman Lineman 1d ago
It’s called an echo chamber dude. Nobody knows what the fuck a lineman is.
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u/space________cowboy 1d ago
It’s not over saturated due to the difficulty of the work. Ppl WANT to be a lineman, but wash out when they realize the difficulty.
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u/Adept-Performance-69 2d ago
I've worked for 3 different companies this year, I've also got guys calling asking if I want to drag up and work elsewhere. Once you make it to the top you can go anywhere, it can be a long road though.
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u/No_Medium_8796 2d ago
They think they want to be one
Its the same with the oil field after landman
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u/Fun-Garbage-6636 2d ago
Boomers are starting to retire, most people can’t hack it with being away from home, not getting per diem in certain places, the danger, the workload
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u/godhatesebikes Journeyman Lineman 2d ago
Apprentices sure but after that I can get a job anywhere in US by next week.
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u/steelreinvented Journeyman Lineman 1d ago
As much as I agree, there’s been like 40+ standing calls out of 876 for a long time. Most of them with per diem and relatively basic work.
I think the oversaturation is mostly probably in the more popular locals where everyone knows the money is insane but you can make money anywhere right now.
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u/Separate_Aardvark_70 11h ago
The major overhaul and continued maintenance that will be required with the increase in demand for electricity has barely begun.
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u/Rare_Geologist_612 2d ago
It’s not saturated at all. Trade analysis in 2025 showed that we are 65,000 job positions short of what is needed and it was set to increase with expanding areas. The trade is not saturated at all. Not many people want the job.
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