Storm Money & Tough Lessons: What I Wish Someone Told You Before Becoming a Lineman

Kyle Montgomery spent about ten years as a contract lineman. Now he's the lead line instructor at North Country Electrical Line School in Escanaba.He got into the trade almost by accident. He'd done five years in the Coast Guard, come home, and watched the paper mill he was working at close with a chain across the fence. A while later a line crew pulled into his parents' yard to change out a pole, he stood there and watched them work, and his dad mentioned afterward that his grandfather had been a lineman.We got into what the work actually pays, what it takes out of you, and why he walked away from the best money in the trade.WHAT WE GET INTOWhat a union journeyman makes, and what the benefits are actually worth on top of the wageWhat storm work pays — and the reason Kyle doesn't go anymore, which comes down to breakfastWhy the guys driving beat-up trucks in the yard are the ones with money in the bankThe suspension list that follows a journeyman's name around the country, and what Kyle thinks should happen to the people on itThe argument he had with a safety inspector about rubber cover-up that he still isn't sorry aboutWhat he's trying to put into a new hand in twelve weeks, and what gets somebody sent homeABOUT KYLEFive years in the Coast Guard, then two mills back home — the first one closed, the second one taught him he didn't want to be there. Nine months of line school out of Sawyer, an apprenticeship, and about a decade of contract and storm work up and down the country.He's now the lead line instructor at North Country Electrical and Heavy Equipment School in Escanaba, Michigan. He keeps a master list of every student who's come through, and a group chat with every class. They call him in the middle of the night and he answers.TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Who we're talking to00:19 — The Coast Guard, the paper mill, and a chain across the gate02:14 — A line crew pulls into his parents' yard03:06 — Line school, and the apprenticeship he picked04:36 — What this job used to cost the men who did it05:58 — Union vs. nonunion, and who he'd want on a crew08:29 — What a journeyman actually makes09:33 — Storm work and the real money11:26 — "There's nothing comfortable with this trade"12:47 — The worst conditions he ever worked in13:32 — Why he stopped going on storm14:25 — Walk the parking lot and you'll know who's doing well18:03 — The journeymen who make it hard, and why21:11 — The list22:25 — His favorite place he ever worked23:35 — He came in asking for sponsorship money24:31 — He keeps track of every student26:32 — The safety argument he still isn't sorry about29:41 — What a quality hand looks like32:11 — Six feet off the ground34:43 — A million ways to build a power line36:46 — What he tells everyone before they goDISCLAIMER: Kyle's figures on pay, benefits, and storm rates come from his own time in the field and aren't published rates. He notes on the episode that he hasn't worked a contract in about two years.🔗 LINKSListen wherever your get your podcasts: https://built-in-the-midwest.captivate.fm/listenMidwest Truck Driving School: midwesttruckdrivingschool.com North Country Heavy Equipment & Electrical Line School: https://ncheschool.com/Submit your Questions: https://webforms.pipedrive.com/f/6WfGT9X1zlYC6WvssJqfWxOOkvVa1AjzqgnAIIHOq70WWiNo5czEWXpBMqxVTW7UST 💬 CONNECT Email: marketing@midwesttruckdrivingschool.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CDLMidwest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midwesttruckdrivingschool/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@midwesttruckdrivingskool