Brittany Grammer packs up her climbing gear, tosses her hard hat into the passenger seat and pulls away from Northeast Community College Campus in Norfolk, Nebraska.
The 36-year-old mother of four — the only female in her class of 48 future utility line workers — makes the hour-and-a-half commute back to her home in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska. She greets her family, cares for a small menagerie of pets — seven cats, two dogs, four birds, two turtles and three chickens — and logs into work for her employer in Baltimore, more than 1,200 miles away.
Grammer works remotely full-time designing under-and above-ground power infrastructures for a Maryland utility provider. With a certification in computer-aided drafting, she can read plans and plot electrical lines located halfway across the country from the comfort of her home office.
But by the time she graduates with dual associate degrees in drafting and utility line from Northeast Community College, she’ll be qualified to work in the field — and 80 ft up in the air.
“I occasionally replace utility poles at my job, but I always liked the idea of being out in the field, going out and fixing something myself,” she says. “As a designer, you’re a little limited. You pretty much draw the pictures. If I design it, I might as well be qualified to go out and fix it.”
She dreams of one day being on-call for storm duty, traveling to the site of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and snowstorms to restore power.
“Not that I like the idea of storms happening and people having to suffer, but I like the idea of fixing something, especially in emergencies,” she says. “You have to think on your feet and be able to adapt to any situation that arises. I like to think I’m pretty level-headed in a crisis.”
Getting Her Start
A military kid born in Germany and raised in Lincoln and Grand Island, Nebraska, her family moved to Maryland when she was 10 years old. She studied automotive in high school as part of a magnet program — early evidence of her mechanical leanings — but decided to pursue health care after graduation. She earned her Certified Nursing Associate (CNA) license and worked in a hospital for seven years.
“I decided I need a change of pace,” she said.
A lifelong knack for drawing inspired her to earn a drafting certificate in Maryland. With no on-the-job experience but glowing referrals from a drafting instructor, she landed her first job in utilities. Today, she spends most of her time designing underground electrical cable replacements.
Beyond spatial awareness and computer skills, her job requires attention to detail, ensuring local standards are adhered to throughout the building process.
“When I was getting started, I was not at all familiar with utilities,” she said. “But the more I worked with them, the more I fell in love with electricity — and really the whole distribution system, how it gets from one place to another.”
When COVID hit, she relocated her family back to Nebraska, where she grew up, to be closer to extended relatives. Fortunately, her employer agreed to let her work remotely. Back in Nebraska, it was only a matter of time before she learned about the utility line program at Northeast Community College, only 70 miles from her home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Learning the Trade
Established in 1978, the utility line program at Northeast is one of only three two-year utility programs in the nation. The program is comprehensive, starting students at the ground level (literally) and preparing them with everything it takes to succeed in what can be described as a high-demand, high-wage, physically challenging industry.
Most utility line students begin the program as total novices but graduate fully prepared to work in the industry — often with full-time jobs already lined up. During the training program, the students start with the basics: operating trucks, handling poles, climbing and electricity fundamentals. In the second semester, the team adds more skills training. But after that, all Northeast utility line students leave for an internship with a state electrical association. Most of them may still be new to the trade when they first start their internship, but when they return, they are young utility professionals ready to go.
As one of the Midwest’s preeminent utility line programs, Northeast churns out many graduates who will make up the future workforce. The demand for utility professionals, including lineworkers, will only continue to grow. Thousands of professionals are needed just to keep up with the number who are retiring. Because retirement tends to happen early in the utility industry, those who retire need to be replaced. Many employers are lining up to get the graduates out of Northeast Community College.
Dan Hellbusch, vice president of operations at Loup Power District, agrees. According to Hellbusch, a graduate of the utility line program, utility providers around the country need skilled workers. A significant portion of Loup Power District’s new hires, he says, are Northeast graduates.
“For decades, the internship part of the program has been helping to supply our skilled workforce,” Hellbusch said. “We actually wait for Northeast interns to graduate before filling a position. These students arrive prepared and equipped with the necessary skills to make great utility workers.”
The industry’s growing demand means ample financial and career opportunities for students willing to come aboard. That makes the utility line program at Northeast an appealing option, especially considering the cost-to-reward ratio. The program has a high return on investment, and the amount students can get back from the 21 months it takes to get from start to finish is substantial.
For Grammer, the opportunity means something even more significant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 4.1% of electric power line installers and repairers in the United States are women. She’s breaking barriers and defying the odds in a field that, traditionally, has been dominated by men.
She has never shied away from any of the challenges and is right there with the guys in her class, says her instructor. In fact, she’s usually the first in line to go.
Working as a Woman in Line Work
About 35 ft in the air, Grammer adjusts her climbing harness and feels the utility pole she is clinging to swaying softly with the wind. She looks out over a sea of classmates, decked out in safety gear and hard hats, suspended in the air, blotting out a deep blue sky.
Today is the softball game. To become acclimated to twisting, bending, and moving freely on the pole, she and her classmates toss each other a softball. The rules are simple: If you drop it, you must climb back down (shamefully, of course) and start over again.
“It seems tedious at first, but the more you do it, the more confident you become on the pole,” Grammer said. She, herself, has grown comfortable with climbing. That’s probably because her class tackled it in baby steps — just one step up on the first day of class, two steps the next day, and so on.
Climbing is just one of many physically demanding aspects of line work Grammer has grown accustomed to. Being a female, she says, has never made her back down.
“It’s demanding work, but it’s not something a girl can’t do," she said. "In fact, I think because girls have wider hips, we may even adapt to the physical toll of climbing a little quicker. Our anatomy helps out. A lot of the guys I climb with will complain about sore hips, but my feet start hurting before my hips ever will.”
That’s not to say it’s all been smooth sailing. Last year, a knee fracture from a previous injury flared up and began to cause issues; this sidelined her from the pole for six weeks and made her fall behind a full course. “That was a bummer. I was pretty emotional about that,” she said.
However, misfortune turned to opportunity when her student advisor, Josh Becker, helped her create a new course schedule that would allow her to catch up and add drafting courses. Now when she graduates in less than two years, she’ll have two associate degrees in drafting and utility line.
“The thing about being a woman in a male-dominated industry: A lot of people are going to either be excited and take me on because I’m a girl or run away without giving me a thought." she said. "That’s why it’s important to me to build up my resume. It proves that I can do this. I want the experience. I want to be out in the field. Give me the hard jobs.”
One of her proudest moments was related to drafting, when her class project was selected to represent Northeast at a home-build showcase.
“The construction program students had built a house and were auctioning it for sale,” she said. “The drafting students each created a blueprint and 3D model of the home. My design was chosen to showcase for the open house.”
But that’s not the only achievement she’s proud of. While at Northeast she also earned her CDL, meaning she will eventually be able to drive utility trucks.
“That was the first time I ever drove a manual. I was pretty proud of myself for getting that," she said.
She’s currently working on her drone license so she can conduct aerial work. She’s also an active member of Utility Line Club, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and TRIO — a program for first-generation, low-income and students with disabilities.
“I am incredibly proud to be a first-generation student in my family,” Grammer said. “When I graduated high school, I couldn’t even afford my cap and gown. I want to set an example for my kids and show them they can accomplish anything and that I’ll always be there to support them.”
When she walks down the aisle in 2026, she will be the first in her family to graduate college. But she’ll also be one of only three women in Northeast history to graduate from the utility line program.
“Brittany is a go-getter,” said her instructor. “She knows she’s one of a few women in a male-dominated career, but there’s no way she’s letting that hold her back. I think it drives her.”
She said there’s not a day that goes by when she says, “I don’t want to do this today.”
“It’s just really fun to be a part of this, to be involved,” she says. “I think a lot more women should do it.”
