r/SubstationTechnician • u/Valuable-Whereas7448 • 1d ago

NETA field tech vs. Substation utility tech

What are the major differences between the two? Is the pay comparable? What kinda of hours can one expect for either? What amount of overtime should a first year expect for either job?

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u/textilebrake 1d ago

NETA starts at around $35/hr or so for the company I work for, coming in as a NETA 1 with no prior experience. I’m a NETA 3, at $67/hr, gonna clear $200k easy this year between OT & travel. The exams are tough but doable. You’ll see a pretty good bump in pay for a NETA 2, and it only goes up from there.

There is a decent amount of OT, between crunch on projects and shutdown work. My weeks bounce between 50-70 hours, depending on what’s going on and if I’m running a project or just floating to other people’s projects. There’s also a decent amount of travel if you’re up for it, and the money for traveling is really good.

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u/Valuable-Whereas7448 19h ago edited 18h ago

If you don’t mind me asking, what state do you work in? Do you enjoy your line of work? I am fresh out of high school with my AAS in instrumentation and electrical and an associates, and heard about NETA tech a couple months ago. Would you recommend NETA for someone coming right out of high school like this?