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Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · SOC 49-9051

0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$95,320
Median Annual Salary
Bright ↗
O*NET Outlook
11,400
Proj. Annual Openings
131,070
Employment (OEWS 2025)
+2.7%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 49-9051 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
0.0%
Low · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
66/100
High friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$95,320
H-1B offered wage $83,000; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
11,400
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +6.6%.
Observed/proxy demand
1
FY2025 certified LCAs; 20,171 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Active ListeningTroubleshootingMonitoringOperations MonitoringOperation and Control

Transition context

  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure1.6%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

12.6%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI0%
AI ability · AIOE37.8%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne9.7%

Top Skills

1.Active Listening
2.Troubleshooting
3.Monitoring
4.Operations Monitoring
5.Operation and Control

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

2
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
1
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$83,000
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#639 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.

Common titles: Class Gloving Electrical Lineman, Class Rubber Gloving Lineman, Electrical Lineman, Electrical Lineworker, Lineworker, Power Lineman

Representative Tasks

  • 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.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Drive trucks or other vehicles to or at work sites.
  • Monitor work areas or procedures to ensure compliance with safety procedures.
  • Control power supply connections.
  • Climb equipment or structures to access work areas.
  • Inspect electrical or electronic systems for defects.

Tools & Technologies

Bentley MicroStation · hotMicrosoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotZoom · hotComputer aided design and drafting CADD softwareEmail softwareGeographic information system GIS systems

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
1.9%
Avg AI Exposure
4
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 49-9051: 2019 — employment: 111,660, median wage: $72,520; 2020 — employment: 114,930, median wage: $75,030; 2021 — employment: 123,940, median wage: $78,310; 2022 — employment: 119,510, median wage: $82,340; 2023 — employment: 120,170, median wage: $85,420; 2025 — employment: 131,070, median wage: $95,320.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure0.0%1.6%
OutlookBright ↗24% Bright
Median Salary$95,320N/A
AI Resiliency100/100N/A