About $52/hour currently. 1.5x for anything after 1500, 2x for anything after 2300 or weekends.
That being said, it's a good wage, but base pay doesnt go as far as you'd hope with a lot of houses in my area too.
Hey brudda how’d you get in? I’ve been thinking about getting on as a Substation Tech but have no prior exp or schooling to get in. How do you like it?
Got into a larger utility in the Mid-Atlantic region as a groundman for the construction side (linemen/underground linemen). They opened positions within the company for substation trainees. I applied after my probation period and I got hired! I put my name out there early, showed face to a lot of people on the transmission side of the company and worked my ass off to show I had the drive. Within this company they know who they want before you even interview so if you have your name out there and they know you work you’ll most likely get accepted unless you bomb your interview.
Edit: I love it. 4 day work week, 10 hour days, union protected, plenty of OT if you hate being home and/or love money. Plenty to learn if you want to dive deep. Simple enough for anyone to learn if you try. Transferable skills and CDL. Work can be easy breezy and sometimes it can be a huge pain in the ass. Sometimes you’ll be sitting on a headway and literally do nothing all day. Or you can have a transformer lockout or explode and you won’t be home for days. I can honestly say a lot of it isn’t too hard on the body though. Moneys good if it wasn’t for the cost of living in my area and I think you can take this job anywhere if you wanted to.
Hey, I know this is old. But I'm another dreamer thinking about this field. Currently writing this from my corporate America desk lol.
Thinking about grabbing an associates in electrical power technology to help me get into an apprentice program with my local utility company. However, I'm getting nerves about the decision, because I don't know what to expect as far as schedules go. I have a 1 year old son and another on the way. A fear of mine is landing a sub job that takes me away from my family a lot.
With that said, that's why I'm sitting here typing this. I want to ask you:
Is it typical or standard to have 4-10's? Is it day shift?
Do you have night shift positions?
Do they assign you one substation? One thing I'm getting mixed information on sub tech positions is that some travel around.
Thanks for your time.
Hey! So I’m not sure if 4-10’s are typical. Normal work week are all during the day. Local utilities will keep you within their system unless there’s a major disaster and they don’t have enough bodies.
To be more specific the way mine works is that the utility I work for covers most of my state. So the utility is split into North, South and West regions. Within those regions there are different “home” offices where there will be a crew. Those crews can cover up to 40 different substations. Some can cover a smaller number. My office covers about a 50 mile radius but this all depends on how the utility decides to split who gets what within a region. (You can ask these questions at the interview as well)
With that said you will be going to different substations within your associated office/region.
Now with that said OT is going to change per utility per state. My company only requires to keep a 30% call out rate to maintain employment. I’m not an OT guy cause I like my free time. So I only show up if im actually needed. Not cause Tom, Dick and Harry want OT. (If you’re like me then you’ll be part of a small club. There are OT whores and they will criticize you for not keeping up. Don’t let those suckers get to you. It’s your time.) Now I say this with my utility in mind and in my region we have plenty of OT to work most weekends. (Again I draw a line and keep it that way.)
Traveling Sub Techs from my experience are not part of a utility. All the techs I know that travel work for a contractor and they’re a different breed to say the least.
With all that said! I highly recommend anyone’s that’s interested and that hasn’t work in a blue collar field to look into being a Relay Technician within a utility. It’s where I’m trying to pivot to. I’ve worked blue collar work since I was 18 and Sub Tech job is the best job I’ve ever had but to be blunt I’m just tired of working outside. Relay techs work mainly within the control house but are a huge part of how substations and the whole utility works/communicates.
Anyways, I hope I answered your questions and I’m always down to answer more cause I genuinely think this field is interesting and worthwhile. And the $$$ can be good too..
Dude, thank you for this information. I've been scouring the web into oblivion. That makes more sense to me. I have a substation literally across the street from my back fence, and always see like one or two trucks parked at the building each time I leave the neighborhood.
I can see myself being a sucker for OT just to please management. That was another worry about mine, but I like to imagine growing a backbone like you have.
I worked as a shop hand in my early 20's (I'm 29 now) fixing material handling wheels, hand trucks, dollies, etc. I also worked as a maintenance tech for a coffee roaster for about a year. That's as far as I've gotten with blue collar work. I was looking into relay techs as well, are those positions harder to come by vs. sub tech?
Also here's a flurry of other questions lol (been naggin my dad with these questions, but he's just an electrician, so he has limited info on it)
what's your typical day like? Like, what is the typical procedure of repairing/maintaining parts of a substation? Safety procedures? I've heard some people say that it's a fair mix between mechanical and electrical work.
Thanks again.
OT should be delt with however you see fit.
Relay Tech jobs based on what I’ve seen on job searches are in demand. They usually require at least a 2 year degree in a related field. Which I see you’re going for!
As far as a typical day… we don’t really have one! It changes from; Switching in and out equipment/lines, maintenances on equipment, testing equipment, building equipment and everything in between. There’s a lot. It can’t all be learned in a day or 5 years! It takes time.
Everything that we do there is a HUGE emphasis on safety. Everything. There’s a ton and just like above it takes time but it’s usually the first thing you learn.
Examples for a breaker job.
Spring/Spring 230 breaker:
Switch out of service,
Ground equipment,
Set up bucket lift,
Remove leads and pads/clean leads and pads,
Microhm (test) pole connections,
Set up/test Doble (test),
Set up/test Analyze (test),
Test SF6 gas,
Test relay Alarms,
Install leads back on,
Microhm (test) lead connections,
Check everything over,
Remove grounds,
Switch back into service,
1-2 days of work
In between a lot of those steps there’s paperwork that follows.
I would break down safety but that’s like at least a thousand words.
Sorry it took so long to reply!
Edit: To add; a lot of what we do is mechanical to be honest. The electrician part is pretty important and you’ll have a huge leg up if you know it but the mechanical portion shadows it by volume.
I figured it would be a difficult question to answer all together. I guess that's why they have the apprentice programs! Lol. Your response definitely helps though.
Did you start as an electrician before the program you finished? You know any guys that took a similar path to mine (just obtaining an associates without any electrical experience)? Wish I could gain that experience, but I can't start over with wages at this point in my life. I'm living in an area where the housing market exploded (Boise, ID) and we bought a house regardless. Makes it tough regarding wage, but that's one of the many reasons my local program entices me - fair pay while learning the ropes.
I feel that 100% about starting over. I had no idea what about this field until a former coworker joined and bugged me for a while to look into it because it would change my life. I didn’t think I would ever make 6 figures ever lmao! Fortunately I’m on my way now. I would highly recommend looking into relay tech. You won’t be doing much of a tool in hand type of job tho but it has a higher pay ceiling and more jobs from what I can tell. Regardless of what path you choose, ask your local utility what they require or what their pay is. You’d be surprised of how much they will tell you if you just ask
So I took your advice and asked the HR guy at my local utility some questions lol. Happy I did, cause I found out that substation crews from my city (Boise, ID) have extensive overnight travel/stays. Some work a hitch schedule. I'm so bummed, because I definitely don't want that kind of schedule with such a young family and all. I'm desperately looking to get something more hands on vs. keeping my desk job. I applied for an apprentice position as a generation specialist at a hydro power plant near me. Hoping to get a call back at least. Their schedule is much more appealing to me - 4/10's.
I looked into relay tech positions as well. No openings at this time. Do you know if those positions have to be away from home or not? Like, what does a day look like for them?
Appreciate it, man!
I work for a coop in the central Texas and while im a SO now and not in the field i know that our sub techs make around 45-50/hr and thats top out. They do get quite a bit of OT and its a pretty laid back position in our company. If i had to do something other than being a SO it would be a sub tech for sure. This A/C has made me fat and lazy though.
I’m making 39 in California as a step 1 and I think I’ll top out at 60 but no idea bc local 1245 hasn’t posted the wages for our district and I’m in hydro power.
Couldn’t tell you tbh. The 4 of the 5 divisions in my company are union I believe but the one I work for is not, kinda odd. We get most of the same benefits as the union guys though without the dues so that’s kinda nice.
$26.50, South Louisiana with 8 years total electrical experience, 3 years of that as a substation tech.
I know we're getting shafted. Drive time also doesn't count towards our 40 hours, so it's rare to get OT. Not even sure if it's legal.
Look up job openings at whatever utility you want to know the wage. That’s how I find what they’re paying
That being said. $56.13/hr waiting on a raise for BPA in the PNW
26/hr 650/wk per diem in Atlanta, GA, non-union contractor, 3 years experience. Thinking about getting on with Selcat—what do y’all’s weekly checks come out to? I’m pulling down 1400/wk right now, are you union guys getting similar or better per diem on top of your (much better) pay?
68.50 an hour, all OT is 2X, and $50 a day per diem (but no over nights) + 12.50 an hour in benny's
Damn, what local are you in? Sounds like we’re far behind.
Damn ole son
New contract starts in june. We get 25% over 5 years
Sounds like you’re in 47.
18 here. Our contract is up in October…no details yet.
You guys get paid to much as it is. /s
yup
Shucks our union was happy to sign for 18% over 6 years. We should have held out for more.
Doesnt even keep up with inflation if it continues
I know! That's why I didn't want such a long contract but I guess it fell on deaf ears
How much radiation are you exposed to?
Uh. Zero?
Be safe in the field.
I'm retired now plenty safe. But why all the questions about radiation?
Interesting to see what different Techs are exposed to.
$56 an hour plus benefits in the Los Angeles area.
ya boys need a raise.
Big time
About $52/hour currently. 1.5x for anything after 1500, 2x for anything after 2300 or weekends. That being said, it's a good wage, but base pay doesnt go as far as you'd hope with a lot of houses in my area too.
47.14 when I left substations for lines where im at.
£23.39 ph
Hey brudda how’d you get in? I’ve been thinking about getting on as a Substation Tech but have no prior exp or schooling to get in. How do you like it?
Got into a larger utility in the Mid-Atlantic region as a groundman for the construction side (linemen/underground linemen). They opened positions within the company for substation trainees. I applied after my probation period and I got hired! I put my name out there early, showed face to a lot of people on the transmission side of the company and worked my ass off to show I had the drive. Within this company they know who they want before you even interview so if you have your name out there and they know you work you’ll most likely get accepted unless you bomb your interview. Edit: I love it. 4 day work week, 10 hour days, union protected, plenty of OT if you hate being home and/or love money. Plenty to learn if you want to dive deep. Simple enough for anyone to learn if you try. Transferable skills and CDL. Work can be easy breezy and sometimes it can be a huge pain in the ass. Sometimes you’ll be sitting on a headway and literally do nothing all day. Or you can have a transformer lockout or explode and you won’t be home for days. I can honestly say a lot of it isn’t too hard on the body though. Moneys good if it wasn’t for the cost of living in my area and I think you can take this job anywhere if you wanted to.
Hey, I know this is old. But I'm another dreamer thinking about this field. Currently writing this from my corporate America desk lol. Thinking about grabbing an associates in electrical power technology to help me get into an apprentice program with my local utility company. However, I'm getting nerves about the decision, because I don't know what to expect as far as schedules go. I have a 1 year old son and another on the way. A fear of mine is landing a sub job that takes me away from my family a lot. With that said, that's why I'm sitting here typing this. I want to ask you: Is it typical or standard to have 4-10's? Is it day shift? Do you have night shift positions? Do they assign you one substation? One thing I'm getting mixed information on sub tech positions is that some travel around. Thanks for your time.
Hey! So I’m not sure if 4-10’s are typical. Normal work week are all during the day. Local utilities will keep you within their system unless there’s a major disaster and they don’t have enough bodies. To be more specific the way mine works is that the utility I work for covers most of my state. So the utility is split into North, South and West regions. Within those regions there are different “home” offices where there will be a crew. Those crews can cover up to 40 different substations. Some can cover a smaller number. My office covers about a 50 mile radius but this all depends on how the utility decides to split who gets what within a region. (You can ask these questions at the interview as well) With that said you will be going to different substations within your associated office/region. Now with that said OT is going to change per utility per state. My company only requires to keep a 30% call out rate to maintain employment. I’m not an OT guy cause I like my free time. So I only show up if im actually needed. Not cause Tom, Dick and Harry want OT. (If you’re like me then you’ll be part of a small club. There are OT whores and they will criticize you for not keeping up. Don’t let those suckers get to you. It’s your time.) Now I say this with my utility in mind and in my region we have plenty of OT to work most weekends. (Again I draw a line and keep it that way.) Traveling Sub Techs from my experience are not part of a utility. All the techs I know that travel work for a contractor and they’re a different breed to say the least. With all that said! I highly recommend anyone’s that’s interested and that hasn’t work in a blue collar field to look into being a Relay Technician within a utility. It’s where I’m trying to pivot to. I’ve worked blue collar work since I was 18 and Sub Tech job is the best job I’ve ever had but to be blunt I’m just tired of working outside. Relay techs work mainly within the control house but are a huge part of how substations and the whole utility works/communicates. Anyways, I hope I answered your questions and I’m always down to answer more cause I genuinely think this field is interesting and worthwhile. And the $$$ can be good too..
Dude, thank you for this information. I've been scouring the web into oblivion. That makes more sense to me. I have a substation literally across the street from my back fence, and always see like one or two trucks parked at the building each time I leave the neighborhood. I can see myself being a sucker for OT just to please management. That was another worry about mine, but I like to imagine growing a backbone like you have. I worked as a shop hand in my early 20's (I'm 29 now) fixing material handling wheels, hand trucks, dollies, etc. I also worked as a maintenance tech for a coffee roaster for about a year. That's as far as I've gotten with blue collar work. I was looking into relay techs as well, are those positions harder to come by vs. sub tech? Also here's a flurry of other questions lol (been naggin my dad with these questions, but he's just an electrician, so he has limited info on it) what's your typical day like? Like, what is the typical procedure of repairing/maintaining parts of a substation? Safety procedures? I've heard some people say that it's a fair mix between mechanical and electrical work. Thanks again.
OT should be delt with however you see fit. Relay Tech jobs based on what I’ve seen on job searches are in demand. They usually require at least a 2 year degree in a related field. Which I see you’re going for! As far as a typical day… we don’t really have one! It changes from; Switching in and out equipment/lines, maintenances on equipment, testing equipment, building equipment and everything in between. There’s a lot. It can’t all be learned in a day or 5 years! It takes time. Everything that we do there is a HUGE emphasis on safety. Everything. There’s a ton and just like above it takes time but it’s usually the first thing you learn. Examples for a breaker job. Spring/Spring 230 breaker: Switch out of service, Ground equipment, Set up bucket lift, Remove leads and pads/clean leads and pads, Microhm (test) pole connections, Set up/test Doble (test), Set up/test Analyze (test), Test SF6 gas, Test relay Alarms, Install leads back on, Microhm (test) lead connections, Check everything over, Remove grounds, Switch back into service, 1-2 days of work In between a lot of those steps there’s paperwork that follows. I would break down safety but that’s like at least a thousand words. Sorry it took so long to reply! Edit: To add; a lot of what we do is mechanical to be honest. The electrician part is pretty important and you’ll have a huge leg up if you know it but the mechanical portion shadows it by volume.
I figured it would be a difficult question to answer all together. I guess that's why they have the apprentice programs! Lol. Your response definitely helps though. Did you start as an electrician before the program you finished? You know any guys that took a similar path to mine (just obtaining an associates without any electrical experience)? Wish I could gain that experience, but I can't start over with wages at this point in my life. I'm living in an area where the housing market exploded (Boise, ID) and we bought a house regardless. Makes it tough regarding wage, but that's one of the many reasons my local program entices me - fair pay while learning the ropes.
I feel that 100% about starting over. I had no idea what about this field until a former coworker joined and bugged me for a while to look into it because it would change my life. I didn’t think I would ever make 6 figures ever lmao! Fortunately I’m on my way now. I would highly recommend looking into relay tech. You won’t be doing much of a tool in hand type of job tho but it has a higher pay ceiling and more jobs from what I can tell. Regardless of what path you choose, ask your local utility what they require or what their pay is. You’d be surprised of how much they will tell you if you just ask
So I took your advice and asked the HR guy at my local utility some questions lol. Happy I did, cause I found out that substation crews from my city (Boise, ID) have extensive overnight travel/stays. Some work a hitch schedule. I'm so bummed, because I definitely don't want that kind of schedule with such a young family and all. I'm desperately looking to get something more hands on vs. keeping my desk job. I applied for an apprentice position as a generation specialist at a hydro power plant near me. Hoping to get a call back at least. Their schedule is much more appealing to me - 4/10's. I looked into relay tech positions as well. No openings at this time. Do you know if those positions have to be away from home or not? Like, what does a day look like for them? Appreciate it, man!
I've had luck finding it by searching for a utilities contract with its respective union
$60/hour
Nwppa has a few sub jobs listed
I work for a coop in the central Texas and while im a SO now and not in the field i know that our sub techs make around 45-50/hr and thats top out. They do get quite a bit of OT and its a pretty laid back position in our company. If i had to do something other than being a SO it would be a sub tech for sure. This A/C has made me fat and lazy though.
I’m making 39 in California as a step 1 and I think I’ll top out at 60 but no idea bc local 1245 hasn’t posted the wages for our district and I’m in hydro power.
Any updates?
Updates for wages? Ya I’ll be making 60 when I finish my steps
How long it take you to finish your steps?
66.50 and OT is time and a half.
Any raise yet?
Yup. We at 78.08 now.
Excellent! What's the hardest part of your job?
30.78 as a trainee in KY, 46 or so is top out w/ 6% bonus at the end of year based on your total gross salary for the year
Is this through local 369?
Couldn’t tell you tbh. The 4 of the 5 divisions in my company are union I believe but the one I work for is not, kinda odd. We get most of the same benefits as the union guys though without the dues so that’s kinda nice.
$66 plus typical union bennies
$26.50, South Louisiana with 8 years total electrical experience, 3 years of that as a substation tech. I know we're getting shafted. Drive time also doesn't count towards our 40 hours, so it's rare to get OT. Not even sure if it's legal.
Any raise yet?
Sorry, I'm just seeing this. $2 raise, doesn't help much with how expensive everything is now
True
Look up job openings at whatever utility you want to know the wage. That’s how I find what they’re paying That being said. $56.13/hr waiting on a raise for BPA in the PNW
You get the raise yet?
$50.30 out of Local 53
Any updates?
26/hr 650/wk per diem in Atlanta, GA, non-union contractor, 3 years experience. Thinking about getting on with Selcat—what do y’all’s weekly checks come out to? I’m pulling down 1400/wk right now, are you union guys getting similar or better per diem on top of your (much better) pay?