At just 32 years old, Matt Edwards is already a 13-year veteran of the electric utility industry. Quickly establishing an exciting and rewarding career is exactly what inspired him to become a lineman in the first place.
“Like a lot of my high school classmates, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” said Edwards, a lineman for Paducah Power System in Paducah, Kentucky. “I had some interest in a lot of different things, but I was never a student who liked to study or wanted to go to a four-year college. I mainly wanted something where I could find a job right away, and enjoy the work I would be doing. I just wasn’t sure what that might be.”
Edwards was looking for a sign. Ironically, he saw one at a place where people go every Sunday for a different kind of inspiration.
“I saw a guy at church who drove up in his bucket truck and was wearing his uniform,” Edwards recalled. “He was a local lineworker and was on call that morning. I started looking into what it would take to become a lineman myself, and decided to apply for the lineman training course at the nearby school, Somerset Community College.”
To make it in this profession, aspiring electrical linemen must possess some core characteristics. The Somerset Community College website states it beautifully: The career of a lineman is restricted and isn’t for the weak-minded or faint-of-heart. Linemen must be physically and mentally strong, adventurous, courageous, and career-focused. Linemen also need to be good hands-on learners. Edwards felt like he checked all of those boxes. But so did a long list of other aspiring linemen. Edwards initially found himself on a waiting list to get into the training course.
“I knew this was what I wanted to try doing, though, so I decided to wait it out,” Edwards said. After a few months of waiting, he was admitted to the course. “Lineman school was where I fell in love with being a lineman and knew for sure that this was what I wanted to do with my life,” Edwards said.
The eight-week course Edwards took primarily focused on climbing powerline poles, using basic lineman tools, and working from a bucket truck to tie in sag wires. As Edwards explained, the course was designed to prepare students for the next phase in their careers—an apprenticeship where hands-on, on-the-job learning could take place.
Building a career from the ground up, literally
By completing that eight-week lineman training course, Edwards was able to get hired by a private utility contractor in Madisonville, KY.
“I learned more in my first week working there than I did the entire eight weeks of lineman school,” Edwards said with a laugh, adding that he knew the school would only prepare him for what he’d need to learn on the job. “More importantly, lineman school helped me land my first job. Going to school was 100% worth it.”
Edwards hit the ground running. He started with a transmission crew doing what he refers to as “a lot of grunt work.”
“When you’re the new guy, you can expect to do a lot of jobs nobody else wants to do,” Edwards said. “If you’re doing underground work, you’re probably going to be the guy in the ditch doing the shoveling and putting the pipe together. I was also taught that you had to become a good groundsman before you could become a good lineman. So when I was first getting started, that’s what I focused on.”
Edwards worked roughly one year for that contractor. That experience helped him get hired by Paducah Power System in 2012. Serving approximately 22,500 customers, Paducah’s system contains 800 miles of distribution line, including a fiber optic network that serves as a backbone for area internet providers. Edwards said there’s a lot of variety in his job because Paducah is a municipal service.
“We never know what’s in store when a new work order comes in,” Edwards said. “We could be setting poles one day, reconducting wire the next, and doing underground work the day after that. That’s another thing I’ve come to like about my job. Even when you’re doing the same tasks day after day, it’s usually in different locations for different customers.”
The customer-facing aspect of his job as a lineman out in the community is something that caught Edwards by surprise. Even back in high school, he was abundantly aware of the inherent risks associated with working from heights and around electricity. He also knew he’d often have to work in difficult weather. But he’d never thought about the impact his work would have on people’s lives. Now, 13 years into his career, it’s at the forefront of his mind.
There are always going to be customers who aren’t the easiest to please. “But to be honest, I’ve also found that it’s a lot more common to run into people who are really happy that you’re there, helping get their power back on,” Edwards said. “There’s no better feeling than to pull up to a city block that’s without power, and everybody’s in a lot better mood when you drive away.”
Making a hard job easier
Edwards’ advice to those thinking about a career as a lineworker tends to mirror the advice he’d followed himself.
“It’s important to show up every day, keep your mouth shut, and just take in as much information as possible,” Edwards said. “You have to be willing to learn from the more experienced people you’re working with.”
Speaking of learning, Edwards and a co-worker made their first trip to The Utility Expo in 2023. He was stunned by how much there was to see. Since Paducah Power System has been doing a lot of underground work lately (i.e. underground primary cable), Edwards spent a lot of his time checking out the equipment, tools, and technologies that can help with that type of work. “We even ended up buying a wire stripper that goes on a drill to strip the outer jacket of underground wire,” Edwards said. “That little tool has been a huge help on our underground jobs.”
Edwards said his job has also been made easier by all of the battery-powered hand tools that are available today. They are much better than when he started his career more than 13 years ago. Other than that, he said there aren’t too many other ways to make his job any easier.
“Being a lineman is a very manual job, and you can’t get around the climbing and lifting you need to do,” Edwards pointed out. But that’s okay because the physical challenges are a big part of what drew Edwards to this type of career in the first place. Working outside is another.
“I’m a big hunter and fisherman, and I love being outdoors,” Edwards said. “That’s another thing I really like about being a lineman. Yeah, there are some really hot days and some really cold days. But, man, there are some really awesome days to be making a living outside. Even more than that, I like helping people. Not to the extent of an EMT or anything like that. But electricity is a necessity. Any role I can play to help make somebody’s life a little better, that’s a really good feeling.”
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