Yeah, because that's more reliable data.

Have you considered that they may not be telling the truth?

I know a lot of linemen and they do pretty well. $70k would be zero overtime.

Do you think they don't earn 30-40 per hour and have the ability to make tons of overtime?

The power company pays office workers time and a half to do "line watch" where they just park by a downed power line with a light on their roof until a crew shows up to fix it.

I don't feel the need to read Reddit, since I worked as a lineman for several years. It's possible to make bank in all kinds of trades, but that is absolutely not the norm, or even the average.

Tradesmen are some of the first people to inflate their actual wage because otherwise they not only have a "lower class" career, but they are also not doing as well as everyone else and it makes them feel like shit.

I would not accept their personal anecdotes over documented tax returns.