Career Explorer Installation and repair
Human edge, growing
Electrical power-line installers and repairers
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 99% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +10.3% by 2035, much faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement and physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $95,320
- Job growth to 2035
- +10.3%
- Openings a year
- 10,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 132,000
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then long on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools
- Test performance of equipment or systems
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate transportation equipment or vehicles
- Assemble equipment or components
- Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment
What the work looks like
- Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
- Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
- Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs.
- Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment.
- Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Also known as: Electrical Lineman, Lineworker, Power Lineman, Service Man, Class Gloving Electrical Lineman, Class Rubber Gloving Lineman, Electrical Lineworker, Power Lineman Technician.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.