Compare A Construction Laborer ↔ B Journeyman Electrician
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2 moves · +$17,950 a year, Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
Gates on this route
- Move 1, to Plumber: Journeyman Plumber (TSBPE), Tradesman Plumber-Limited (TSBPE) license, experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET, most common).
- Move 2, to Journeyman Electrician: Journeyman Electrician (TDLR) license.
Move 1 Transfer move to the side
Construction Laborer to Plumber +$19,220 Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
- O*NET lists Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.79.
- Gates: Journeyman Plumber (TSBPE), Tradesman Plumber-Limited (TSBPE) license, experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET, most common).
- Skills to build: Repairing, Troubleshooting, Judgment and Decision Making
Move 2 Transfer move to the side
Plumber to Journeyman Electrician -$1,270 Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
- O*NET lists Electricians as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.82 (O*NET related occupation beyond the 6 drawn laterals).
- Gates: Journeyman Electrician (TDLR) license.
Side by side
All Electricians: Texas median $58,570, $17,950 more a year than all Construction Laborers ($40,620), every experience level.
Journeyman Electrician: 35% work more than 40 hours a week, about 2 times the share for Construction Laborer (18%).
This level's pay
A No headline record for this level
B $40.75/h Houston union minimum (IBEW 716), 2026
No published schedule lists both jobs, so no level-specific difference is shown.
Occupation-wide pay all experience levels, not this level's pay; Texas median, base pay, $0 to $300k
Gates on the route: Plumber: Journeyman Plumber (TSBPE), Tradesman Plumber-Limited (TSBPE) license, experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET, most common); Journeyman Electrician: Journeyman Electrician (TDLR) license.
Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation
A +12.2% Texas, 15,270 openings a year
B +14.4% Texas, 8,100 openings a year
Over 40 h a week
Physical load our index from O*NET, 1 to 5; A B; largest differences first
3.0 / 5+1.14.1 / 5
- Climbing ladders+2.44Climbing ladders: A 1.76, B 4.2
- Keeping balance+2.26Keeping balance: A 1.59, B 3.85
- Bending or twisting+2.06Bending or twisting: A 2.62, B 4.68
- Hazardous conditions+1.99Hazardous conditions: A 2.6, B 4.59
- Kneeling or crawling+1.53Kneeling or crawling: A 2.22, B 3.75
Degree
A Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 0% do).
B Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 1% do).
License
A No license for this job title at the 8 Texas and federal licensing agencies read on 2026-10-03 (TDLR, TSBPE, TCEQ, TCFP, TEA, TBPELS, NRC and EPA).
B Texas: Journeyman Electrician license (TDLR): 8,000 hours under a Texas Master Electrician (exam allowed at 7,000) and a TDLR exam.
Experience
A Most common related work experience: none (O*NET: 43%).
B Most common related work experience: over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (O*NET: 28%).
Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5
You likely have: 4
- Speaking
- Coordination
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
To build: 6
- Troubleshooting +1.75
- Installation +1.37
- Repairing +1.25
- Active Learning +1.13
- Quality Control Analysis +1.13
- Systems Analysis +1.12
Make this your goal
Save Construction Laborer to Journeyman Electrician as your goal. Each step then shows the hours you have logged toward it, your exam practice and your license, with the one thing to do next and the 6 skills to build as a checklist. Free with an account.
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