High voltage worker stories: 
Paul Vartanian

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leader lineman

Prior roles: Meter Reader/Tech, Groundman/Apprentice Lineman, Journeyman Lineman, Troubleman
Location: MASSACHUSETTS,boSTON AREA

years in the trade: 25 years

@ELECTRICLINEMAN

@ELECTRICLINEMAN
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This job isn’t for the faint of heart. I think all Linemen have a little bit of a screw loose to want to risk your body and possibly your life for a paycheck. 

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Stories in the trade

This series hands the mic to the folks who keep the lights on—how they got in, what they’ve seen, and where the trade’s headed

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How did you first hear about the trade and how did you get into your first role? 

I first heard about the trade when I was around 4 or 5 years old. My next-door neighbor, and a friend of my father’s, whom all the neighborhood kids called “Mr. Edison,” was a Lineman for Boston Edison. He used to tell my dad, “Someday your son will make a great Lineman.” My dad loved hearing that because he was a blue-collar worker,  the type of man who could literally fix or build anything.

 

“Someday you’ll make better money than us, enough to buy a house and raise a family.” Those words stayed with me for the rest of my life.

 

Mr. Edison used to tell me to either get into a Utility if I wanted to stay close to home or join the IBEW Apprenticeship and travel wherever the work was. After losing my father when I turned 12, my life completely changed. After losing my father when I turned 12, my life completely changed. I hated school and struggled to pass classes in junior high and high school.

 

Thank God for my art teacher and hockey coach, Frank Newark. He was a wonderful man who helped me get into art school. After high school, I went to art school to become a sign painter, pinstriper, and airbrush artist. I did that for a couple of years, but I never made the money I wanted.

 

I first heard about the trade when I was around 4 or 5 years old. My next-door neighbor, and a friend of my father’s, whom all the neighborhood kids called “Mr. Edison,” was a Lineman for Boston Edison. He used to tell my dad, “Someday your son will make a great Lineman.” My dad loved hearing that because he was a blue-collar worker,  the type of man who could literally fix or build anything.

 

“Someday you’ll make better money than us, enough to buy a house and raise a family.” Those words stayed with me for the rest of my life.

 

Mr. Edison used to tell me to either get into a Utility if I wanted to stay close to home or join the IBEW Apprenticeship and travel wherever the work was. After losing my father when I turned 12, my life completely changed. After losing my father when I turned 12, my life completely changed. I hated school and struggled to pass classes in junior high and high school.

 

Thank God for my art teacher and hockey coach, Frank Newark. He was a wonderful man who helped me get into art school. After high school, I went to art school to become a sign painter, pinstriper, and airbrush artist. I did that for a couple of years, but I never made the money I wanted.

 

Around 19, I met my future wife. We started dating when I turned 20, and from that point on, all I wanted to do was make money and build a future. I always remembered what Mr. Edison told me when I was little, and it never left the back of my mind.

 

One day, I asked a family friend who worked for Nstar and was a Union Steward if he could help me get into the Apprentice program. Back then, you really had to know someone. While he was helping me try to get into the Apprentice Lineman program at Nstar, I saw an opening at one of the largest public utilities in New England for a Meter Reader/Tech position. I asked my family friend about it, and he told me those companies were extremely difficult to get into. He said, “Apply for that job. If you get in, you should be able to bid into the Apprentice Lineman program later.”

 

The short version is that I worked there for three or four years until an Apprentice Lineman opening finally became available. It was a five-year Apprenticeship with four years of schooling focused on electricity and climbing. I started as a Groundman, then became a Second Class Lineman, and eventually a First Class or Journeyman Lineman. After that, I trained to become a Troubleman, and finally, after many years, I became a Leader Lineman (Foreman).

 

Back then, you just did the work, even if it was outside your classification. You didn’t argue, you just got it done.

Around 19, I met my future wife. We started dating when I turned 20, and from that point on, all I wanted to do was make money and build a future. I always remembered what Mr. Edison told me when I was little, and it never left the back of my mind.

 

One day, I asked a family friend who worked for Nstar and was a Union Steward if he could help me get into the Apprentice program. Back then, you really had to know someone. While he was helping me try to get into the Apprentice Lineman program at Nstar, I saw an opening at one of the largest public utilities in New England for a Meter Reader/Tech position. I asked my family friend about it, and he told me those companies were extremely difficult to get into. He said, “Apply for that job. If you get in, you should be able to bid into the Apprentice Lineman program later.”

 

The short version is that I worked there for three or four years until an Apprentice Lineman opening finally became available. It was a five-year Apprenticeship with four years of schooling focused on electricity and climbing. I started as a Groundman, then became a Second Class Lineman, and eventually a First Class or Journeyman Lineman. After that, I trained to become a Troubleman, and finally, after many years, I became a Leader Lineman (Foreman).

 

Back then, you just did the work, even if it was outside your classification. You didn’t argue, you just got it done.

What’s one thing about this work that outsiders totally misunderstand?

People on the outside take Linemen for granted. They have no idea how much time we sacrifice for this job. We spend more time at work than we do with our own families. We miss birthdays, holidays, milestones, sports games, practices, and moments we can never get back.

 

And that’s not even counting the heat, the freezing cold, the rain, the snow, and the constant beating our bodies take day after day. Most people don’t realize how dangerous, and sometimes deadly, this job truly is until they see it firsthand.

People on the outside take Linemen for granted. They have no idea how much time we sacrifice for this job. We spend more time at work than we do with our own families. We miss birthdays, holidays, milestones, sports games, practices, and moments we can never get back.

 

And that’s not even counting the heat, the freezing cold, the rain, the snow, and the constant beating our bodies take day after day. Most people don’t realize how dangerous, and sometimes deadly, this job truly is until they see it firsthand.
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People on the outside take Lineman for granted, they have no idea how much time we spend on the job.

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What’s your proudest moment on the job so far?

About 25 years ago, when I first started in line work, your Leader’s word meant everything. They decided when you were ready, or when you weren’t. So I worked my ass off. I worked every overtime shift, every storm, every emergency call-in, all while going through line school trying to learn the trade as quickly and safely as possible. Back then, you just did the work no matter your classification. As a first-year Apprentice, I was already gloving 13,800 volts. Those were different times. If a First Class thought you did something stupid, or just didn’t like how you did something, they’d throw a connector at you or scream at you. It’s not like today where Apprentices get upset if they get yelled at, but honestly, it’s a much safer and better environment now.

 

In our contract, there had to be an opening before you could become a First Class Lineman. I had just finished line school when a First Class position got posted. Two of us bid on it, me and our night Troubleman. I had the seniority, but he had the experience. That’s when my Leader Lineman pulled me aside and said, “That’s your job. You worked your ass off, and you’re more than ready to be a First Class Lineman.” Hearing those words meant everything to me. It gave me confidence in my abilities and made me feel like I had truly earned my place in the trade. That was the day I truly became a Lineman, and it’s still my proudest moment to this day.

What’s the most high-pressure or intense situation you’ve had to handle?

When I first became a Journeyman, we were working storm trouble at an Army base. Sometimes things are just completely out of your control, no matter how experienced or careful you are. I was between two hot phases on a three-phase open-wire pole fixing taps that had come off the insulator on a double dead-end. Another guy was working one pole down from me. As I was working, I started feeling things getting tight. When I turned around, I saw the knuckle of his boom caught on a phase, and as he rotated, he was bringing the phases together with me stuck between them. All I could do was yell, duck into the bucket, reach for the controls to boom down, and pray for the best. Thank God he heard everyone yelling and noticed what he was doing at the very last second. Thankfully, nothing happened.

 

Many years later, while working trouble during an ice storm, I got called out for a limb burning on a three-phase riser feeding a large apartment complex. Firefighters, police, and residents were all standing there watching while we had already been working long hours with almost no rest. I boomed up over the riser planning to simply lift the limb off when suddenly I heard a loud crack. Someone yelled, “Tree!” A small tree snapped and fell across all three phases, missing my bucket by only a few feet. It landed across the phases and brought them directly into the system neutral. I ducked into the bucket and prayed. It turned night into day. What felt like an hour was probably only a few seconds before the cutouts finally blew, but it honestly felt like an eternity. It scared the shit out of me. It also ended up taking out a few hundred customers. Like I said, sometimes things are just out of your control no matter what you do. That’s just part of being a Lineman.

What’s the hardest part (physical/mental) of the job and how do you handle it?

This job isn’t for the faint of heart. I think all Linemen have at least a little bit of a screw loose to risk their body and possibly their life for a paycheck. We do get compensated pretty well for it, but this trade destroys your body over time. By the time you retire, or even before that, you’ll probably have joint pain, knee problems, and a wrecked back. Over the years, I’ve been hit in the head numerous times, sent to the hospital twice for stitches, and almost lost a finger before doctors were able to sew it back together.

 

About six years ago, I thought I had just pulled a muscle in my neck. It hurt badly, but like most guys, I ignored it. Six months later, I couldn’t hold my head straight anymore and the pain became brutal. Then my left arm started getting pins and needles before eventually going completely numb. A few weeks later, my right arm started going numb too. Finally, my wife made me go to the ER. After an ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan, and MRI all within an hour, the Neurosurgeon came into the room and asked me how I had crushed my spine in my neck. He told me I needed fusion surgery immediately and hoped it would stop me from becoming fully paralyzed. Two weeks later, I lost feeling in everything and became paralyzed. I was rushed to the hospital for emergency spinal surgery in my neck. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. Pain medication didn’t even work, and it took the Surgeon almost a week to figure out why. Thirty days later, I walked out of the hospital, and six months later, I was back at work.

 

This trade will absolutely beat your body into the ground if you let it. So to all the younger guys and girls getting into this trade, or any trade, please listen when the older Linemen, Journeymen, or Leaders tell you there’s a better or safer way to do something. I’m a perfect example of why you should listen. Take care of your body now because one day you’ll either thank yourself or regret it. Mentally, you also need to be at your best every single day because one stupid mistake can be your last. You have to learn how to separate work, home life, and relationships as best you can. But one thing about this trade is that we all look out for each other. If I see someone having an off day, I’ll keep them on the ground and give them a break. I’d rather do that than have to tell someone’s family they ended up in the hospital.
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Sometimes things are just out of your control no matter what you do, say, or think

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What do you wish someone had told you when you first started on the job?

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to listen to the guys with experience. Ask questions. There’s no such thing as a dumb question in this trade when your life is on the line. You are your own safety supervisor, so always look out for yourself. If something doesn’t feel safe, speak up. Nobody should ever fault you for asking questions about safety.

 

This trade isn’t like it was when I first started. Back then, it was a completely different world. Most of the old-timers were assholes and treated Apprentices like absolute garbage. They’d throw nuts, bolts, and washers at you if they didn’t like what you were doing, even for something as dumb as forgetting where something was on the truck. I almost fought two Foremen when I first got into the trade. One nearly got me killed on my second day on the job, and the other was just a complete prick every single day. There’s only so much disrespect a person can take. I was raised to show respect, but also never let anyone disrespect you.

 

Thank God things eventually changed for the better. Once those Foremen retired, a new group came in that actually cared about teaching and safety. There were still one or two assholes, but overall, the culture became much better. These were Foremen who truly cared about their crews. They would never put you in a situation they wouldn’t put themselves in. They were great teachers too, guys like Stevie, Tommy, Jimmy, Dave, and Chris.

What kind of person thrives in this work? What kind of person doesn’t?

If you want to become a Lineman, you better have thick skin. You need to be able to take criticism, handle being yelled at, get called names, and still keep your head in the game. Most of all, you have to be okay with your body taking a serious beating over the years.

 

You need to be good with your hands, think quickly under pressure, and most importantly, know how to work safely. The people who thrive in this trade are the ones who stay humble, stay alert, and never stop learning.

What advice would you give to someone who's just thinking about joining the trades?

I’ve always said that if you want to become a Lineman, you need to have at least a little bit of a screw loose, maybe just a little crazier than most people. If you really think about it, you’re working from crazy heights, especially the high-line guys and helicopter Linemen. Honestly, that always looked fun to me and something I always wanted to try. You’re climbing wooden poles with spikes strapped to your boots while working around electricity that can kill you, burn you, or leave you wishing it had. When you really stop and think about it, there’s nothing normal about this job.

 

But even with all that being said, if I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. This trade isn’t just rewarding, it’s fun, and it becomes a brotherhood. Yes, we take the work seriously because we have to, but we also laugh together, suffer together, and look out for one another at the same time. If you’ve never been part of a blue-collar brotherhood, it’s hard to explain, you just wouldn’t understand it unless you lived it.
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LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO 

WORK IT ALL AWAY
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LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO WORK IT ALL AWAY
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Have you worked in both union and non-union environments? 

I’ve only worked on the Utility side of line work, and I’ve only known Union. Massachusetts is a very pro-Union state, and I’d bet there are very few, if any, non-union Linemen here. It’s either IBEW 104 or whatever Union your Utility joined a hundred years ago. I work at the second-largest municipal light department in New England, and it has always been a very difficult company to get into, especially through the Apprentice program.

 

When I got there, there actually wasn’t an Apprenticeship anymore. We had to negotiate it back into the contract, and I became one of only two Apprentice Linemen for the first time in nearly 30 years because the company usually hired Journeymen directly. Most of those guys came from IBEW 104 after getting tired of traveling or from other Municipal Light Departments, or “Munis”, looking for better pay and overtime opportunities. One thing I can say is that I’ve been lucky enough to learn from a lot of great Linemen over the years. I’ve worked with some incredible guys in this trade, and I still do.

What’s something that went wrong on the job but taught you something important?

One major thing I learned in this trade is to always trust your gut. We were working on a three-phase dead-end/riser pole with three blown cutouts. One crew made repairs to the UG side, and the crew I was on made repairs to the OH side. When we finished, the Foreman yelled to heat it up. I said, “Wait, let me check phasing.” He told me we didn’t move anything and to just energize it.

 

But something in my gut kept telling me to make sure it was right. After arguing about it for a few minutes, he finally handed me the sticks, and sure enough, it didn’t phase correctly. He kept saying, “That’s impossible. We didn’t move anything.” I told him, “If it doesn’t phase, then something is wrong.” This happened about 20 years ago, and I honestly can’t remember what the exact issue was, but I learned something important that day. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t, so always trust your gut.
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When you’re young and single or with no kids. I would say make as much as possible but don’t work too much where your wife starts to resent you for never being home but once you have kids, only work just enough.
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How do you handle stacking OT or traveling for the job while having a family?

When it came to overtime and family, I used to work every single minute of OT I could get. From the day I started as an Apprentice up until about 11 years ago, all I wanted to do was make money. Whether it was emergency call-outs, planned jobs, on-call shifts, trouble work on weekends, mutual aid, or storms, I took it. During storms, we’d work around the clock for days with almost no sleep just to get the power back on. Back then, work was life. Our customers loved us, and my wife used to joke with her friends that she had a part-time husband because I was barely ever home.

 

Then five major things happened that completely changed my perspective. My daughter was born, and on that same day, one of my best friends died, leaving behind a wife and two young kids. Then I became paralyzed and needed emergency spinal surgery, which thankfully turned out okay.

 

After that, a great man named Dave Ericson, one of the Journeymen who trained me and later became my Leader, passed away. Then another great man named Jimmy Green, one of my Leaders over the years, retired and suddenly passed away not long after from a heart attack. All of those moments made me think about losing my own dad two days after my 12th birthday.

How do you handle stacking OT or traveling for the job while having a family?

When it came to overtime and family, I used to work every single minute of OT I could get. From the day I started as an Apprentice up until about 11 years ago, all I wanted to do was make money. Whether it was emergency call-outs, planned jobs, on-call shifts, trouble work on weekends, mutual aid, or storms, I took it. During storms, we’d work around the clock for days with almost no sleep just to get the power back on. Back then, work was life. Our customers loved us, and my wife used to joke with her friends that she had a part-time husband because I was barely ever home.

 

Then five major things happened that completely changed my perspective. My daughter was born, and on that same day, one of my best friends died, leaving behind a wife and two young kids. Then I became paralyzed and needed emergency spinal surgery, which thankfully turned out okay.

 

After that, a great man named Dave Ericson, one of the Journeymen who trained me and later became my Leader, passed away. Then another great man named Jimmy Green, one of my Leaders over the years, retired and suddenly passed away not long after from a heart attack. All of those moments made me think about losing my own dad two days after my 12th birthday.


That’s when I realized there’s more to life than work. I still worked enough overtime to live comfortably, but I refused to miss the important moments with my daughter, like her first steps and her first word, “Dada.” As long as I wasn’t missing something important, I’d still work the extra OT. Now that I’m older, with only five years left until retirement and dealing with a destroyed back, I work as little overtime as possible. When you’re young, single, or don’t have kids yet, I’d say make as much money as you can. But don’t work so much that your wife starts resenting you for never being home. Once you have kids, only work enough to provide comfortably. Life is too short to work it all away.

That’s when I realized there’s more to life than work. I still worked enough overtime to live comfortably, but I refused to miss the important moments with my daughter, like her first steps and her first word, “Dada.” As long as I wasn’t missing something important, I’d still work the extra OT. Now that I’m older, with only five years left until retirement and dealing with a destroyed back, I work as little overtime as possible. When you’re young, single, or don’t have kids yet, I’d say make as much money as you can. But don’t work so much that your wife starts resenting you for never being home. Once you have kids, only work enough to provide comfortably. Life is too short to work it all away.

What’s your career path look like (past, present, 
and future plans)?

From the day I started as an Apprentice, all I ever wanted to be was a Lineman. I love learning because this is a trade where you never stop learning. If you think you know everything in this trade, then you’re probably the problem. I never really wanted to become a Leader or move into anything else. Yes, it comes with more money and a lot more responsibility, but I genuinely loved the work and being out there every day.

 

I eventually became a Leader Lineman because of how badly I beat up my body over the years, and thankfully, it turned out to be a great career move. Now I’m just looking forward to retirement in five years, which will make 32 years in the trade. Once I retire, we’ll see what happens. I’ve got options. I could work as a contractor through the IBEW, or maybe work with my friend and co-worker Ben at his company, BC Line Construction, if things continue going well for him.

 

For now, I’m just praying my body holds up for another five years, and then we’ll figure out the future from there. Maybe before my daughter starts high school, we’ll head south somewhere warm, quiet, and peaceful. Preferably somewhere with a beach and warm water. That’s my peace. We’ll see where life takes us when the time comes.

we’re opening the floor to the folks who do the work

⚡ Features of real workers in the trade 
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⚡ Tips for the trade

Just real experiences, real lessons learned, and real advice from people who do this work every day.

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High Voltage Industries started because the most dangerous and essential work in America is also the most invisible. You put your lives on the line every single day and people don't even know what you do. 

 

We're here to share your stories and honor the sacrifices you make so people can flip a switch every day. And we make gear for those who literally risk their lives to keep the world running.

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