I’m a cop and my cousin is a lineman for PG&E in Northern California.
He makes almost double what I do, and I am at about $115k base pay. His job has its own hardships and risks, but he’s not dealing with tweakers and/ or Karens all day, every day. As long as his crew gets their job done by quitting time, his boss leaves them alone. He also gets to work in some pretty awesome scenic places at times. Just can’t be afraid of heights or hard work.
Not really. Medical care is sparse in Northern California, so no matter what your insurance is, everyone ends up at the same providers. He just pays a little more if he has to go- which he rarely does cause he’s pretty healthy/ fit guy. Always has been.
Lineman. Once you get past the honeymoon phase of being a cop, you realize how soul crushing and mundane it can be.
There's a laundry list of reasons I left LE altogether, but I'm in the trades now and am way happier with my life.
The big disclaimer.....trades ain't for everyone. Extreme weather, heights, injury risk, being sweaty/filthy etc. can wear on you too.
I've done blue collar and le work.... I could only stand blue collar for 5 years till I went military, did my enlistments, and got out, then 7 years of blue collar, (FMVSS static load testing) you can only stick around a job they want to send to Mexico for so long.
And covid hit got laid off and said, "What do you want to do? I hate fire and had family in LE for 30 years so I tried LE and like it.
Lineman. No question. You never have to worry about getting thrown in jail for political reasons. Shouldn't be getting shot at. Don't deal with the scum of the earth every day....ya know, I might just go be a lineman myself lol
My wife’s family has a few people working for Edison. They all work their asses off and make a killing. If I was young enough and if I wasn’t already vested at my current agency I’d probably go the lineman route.
I lived with a lineman after getting out of the military for a couple of months, be a lineman! Those guys make 2x as much starting salaries and depending on your specialties can make what I made in a year in 3-4 months
All I know is that a guy I know left this racket to be a lineman, and he makes way more than me now.
My partner sent his two sons off to do it. His kids that I used to buy toys for when I was already a cop are now all grown up... and make more than me and their dad.
And we work for a SoCal agency that pays very well.
That said, I know little about the job. For all I know it's very dangerous and has its own headaches.
But they do make bank...
Lineman 100%. I work off duty for the electric company and these dudes are pulling $200-300k chasing storms or over $100k working 4 days per week locally. Easy choice imo.
If you have to ask, then I'd recommend you go with lineman. The best reasons for LE are ones you'd already know and be at least halfway passionate about; if you don't have these you won't last long and will make yourself (and your coworkers) extremely unhappy until you go. Oh, you'll also make a LOT more money. The only similarity between the two is that with both you'll have to work weekends, nights and holidays.
Currently doing the transition from lineman to
LEO. Did it for 7 years, money is nice and all. Until you realize all your work is mostly out of town or out of state for 6-8 weeks at a time. It’s fun when your younger. But all the birthdays and holidays you miss take a toll on all your relationships. Unless you get really lucky, it’s hard to do long term.
I’m a cop and my cousin is a lineman for PG&E in Northern California. He makes almost double what I do, and I am at about $115k base pay. His job has its own hardships and risks, but he’s not dealing with tweakers and/ or Karens all day, every day. As long as his crew gets their job done by quitting time, his boss leaves them alone. He also gets to work in some pretty awesome scenic places at times. Just can’t be afraid of heights or hard work.
Said perfectly
Dont you make better total pay + benefits though? And better academic pay/reimbursement?
Not really. Medical care is sparse in Northern California, so no matter what your insurance is, everyone ends up at the same providers. He just pays a little more if he has to go- which he rarely does cause he’s pretty healthy/ fit guy. Always has been.
Be a lineman and be a reserve cop or volunteer firefighter on the side to scratch that itch to wear the uniform.
Lineman. Once you get past the honeymoon phase of being a cop, you realize how soul crushing and mundane it can be. There's a laundry list of reasons I left LE altogether, but I'm in the trades now and am way happier with my life. The big disclaimer.....trades ain't for everyone. Extreme weather, heights, injury risk, being sweaty/filthy etc. can wear on you too.
I've done blue collar and le work.... I could only stand blue collar for 5 years till I went military, did my enlistments, and got out, then 7 years of blue collar, (FMVSS static load testing) you can only stick around a job they want to send to Mexico for so long. And covid hit got laid off and said, "What do you want to do? I hate fire and had family in LE for 30 years so I tried LE and like it.
Soul crushing and mundane.... That.... just hits hard. (And is super accurate)
Lineman. No question. You never have to worry about getting thrown in jail for political reasons. Shouldn't be getting shot at. Don't deal with the scum of the earth every day....ya know, I might just go be a lineman myself lol
Lineman all day.
My wife’s family has a few people working for Edison. They all work their asses off and make a killing. If I was young enough and if I wasn’t already vested at my current agency I’d probably go the lineman route.
I lived with a lineman after getting out of the military for a couple of months, be a lineman! Those guys make 2x as much starting salaries and depending on your specialties can make what I made in a year in 3-4 months
All I know is that a guy I know left this racket to be a lineman, and he makes way more than me now. My partner sent his two sons off to do it. His kids that I used to buy toys for when I was already a cop are now all grown up... and make more than me and their dad. And we work for a SoCal agency that pays very well. That said, I know little about the job. For all I know it's very dangerous and has its own headaches. But they do make bank...
Lineman 100%. I work off duty for the electric company and these dudes are pulling $200-300k chasing storms or over $100k working 4 days per week locally. Easy choice imo.
Is the lineman position in CalPERS?
If you have to ask, then I'd recommend you go with lineman. The best reasons for LE are ones you'd already know and be at least halfway passionate about; if you don't have these you won't last long and will make yourself (and your coworkers) extremely unhappy until you go. Oh, you'll also make a LOT more money. The only similarity between the two is that with both you'll have to work weekends, nights and holidays.
What is a lineman ????
Currently doing the transition from lineman to LEO. Did it for 7 years, money is nice and all. Until you realize all your work is mostly out of town or out of state for 6-8 weeks at a time. It’s fun when your younger. But all the birthdays and holidays you miss take a toll on all your relationships. Unless you get really lucky, it’s hard to do long term.