MEET THE PRO: Blake Potter, Lineman
By Arkansas Next on Monday, October 25, 2021
Hometown: Pine Bluff
Age: 25
Where I trained: Entergy Training School
What I earned: On-the-job apprenticeship training
Job title: Journeyman/senior lineman
Employer: Entergy
Blake Potter consideres it a blessing that he found this job.
Growing up on a farm and doing HVAC work, Blake has always been more of a hands-on person. With Entergy only requiring a high school diploma, being a lineman was right up his alley. He likes that he has been able to start his career at such an early age and that he can already provide for his family. He likes that Entergy not only provides him with excellent benefits, like a 401(k) and a pension, but also genuinely cares about the well-being of their employees.
“They take care of us well, and their main concern is our safety,” Blake says. “They stress to us that ‘No work is so urgent or important that we cannot take the time to do it safely.’”
As a lineman, Blake restores power to people’s homes and businesses. It takes time to repair outages, but he likes being able to fix the problem and get people back to living their lives and doing their jobs.
"They stress to us that ‘No work is so urgent or important that we cannot take the time to do it safely." – Blake
WHAT DOES A LINEMAN DO?
Build jobs and restore lights during regular shifts. If there is an outage and a service man calls out for a crew, linemen answer and report to work at any time, day or night, for restoration.
Responsibilities
- Build jobs
- Restore customers’ electricity
- Lead a crew
Education needed: A high school diploma. If interviewed and hired by Entergy, a 12-week boot camp must be completed.
Job Outlook
► +12% expected growth by 2028
► 2,410 jobs in Arkansas by 2028
► 220 average annual job openings in Arkansas
This option is for you if
- You love helping people
- You have steady hands
- You're a good communicator
- You're ready to learn
- You take safety seriously
High-end earners in Arkansas (top 10%) make
$94,940
Median wages in Arkansas
$68,660 Annual
$33.01 Hourly
START YOUR TRAINING
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation
• Arkansas State University–Newport
• Entergy
• University of Arkansas–Pulaski Technical College
READY TO HIRE YOU
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation
• Entergy
• Koontz Electric
Source: bls.gov and careeronestop.org
