Also called: Overhead Line Engineer, T-Line Engineer
Designs the tall towers and high-voltage wires that carry electricity hundreds of miles from power plants to cities.
You use special software to drape virtual wires across a 3D map of hills and rivers, checking how they sag on hot days and swing in storms. You pick tower heights so the lines clear roads and trees. Then you visit the site to see your towers going up.
Estimated from BLS electrical and civil engineers in utilities.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in civil or electrical engineering; PE license for senior roles.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Electrical engineers overall; transmission building is booming to connect new power.
Medium risk for 10 years. Design software and AI automate sag and tower calculations; engineers still verify loads, routes and safety with a PE stamp.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Drafting or CAD class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2071.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.