Starting Out

I am 22 and started at a utility company at as a janitor. I then got a jop in the call center and was then accepted to the boot camp at the company that I work at. We climb poles, install arms and wire. Going to be a groundman in about six months. Any advice for a young kid that is hopefully going to start his career in less than a year?

You made a great choice on your career path. Being a lineman is one of the most rewarding and challanging carreers there is. 25 years ago I found myself in the same position. I too was hired as a janitor and eventually got the oppurtunity to bid into the line progression. Now all these years later I'm a chief line mechanic for National Grid.
The best advise I could posibly give you is learn as much as you can, if your confused ask questions, Work Hard, Stay away from the social drama, Never Ever bad-mouth anyone.
This job can be very dangerous.... never take a shortcut. always wear your PPE. Listen to the tailboard or pre-job brief like your life depends on it. Listen to your Forman. He might seam like an asshole (I'm sure I become a total asshole sometimes) but he has your safety in mind. Always be on time, ready to work and leave any problems at home in the parking lot.
There's gonna be times when you get frustrated. You'll see a journeyman perform a task effortlessly. Than you'll give it a try and fail miserably. we all went through it. Grow a thick skin.... Harsh words will be spoken. take your lumps like a man and move on. Good luck and welcome to the forum bro. We've got a ton of great Lineman here who would love to help you out with any questions and give advise.

Learn your safety rules and practices and NEVER let anyone tell you to violate these rules AND for dam sure do not let someone else violate them either!! Watching someone get hurt or killed can be worse than it happening to you!

Some guys along the way used to tell me...."I would never ask you to do something I wouldn't" and then I would watch them take a short cut. After a while I figured out that even though they may never ask you to something unsafe it's still YOU that they're relying on to save them therefore really putting your safety in jeopardy from the beginning!

Good Luck!!

Thanks guys! I will be sure not to wear my feelings on my shoulders and just keep working my butt off everyday. I will probably be posting some more questions.I like this forum, great stuff!!

Reality: There will be times when you do point out something that is unsafe and you will be scrutinized for saying something; hold your guns. It pisses me off when I hear something like I've been doing this for 25 years. So friggen what. Old timers get accustom to working certain ways--THEIR way.

You'll see.