Compare A Electrical Apprentice ↔ B Technical Director

Compare with

Your route

4 moves

No pay difference shown for this route: electrical Apprentice: All Electricians (47-2111) at every experience level, the occupation apprentices are counted in (SOC Classification Principle 7). Mostly journeyman-level workers, so it is not apprentice pay and is never subtracted.

Gates on this route

Move 1, to Lineworker (Power Line): Journeyman Lineman (TDLR) license.
Move 2, to Low-Voltage Technician: license not checked yet.
Move 3, to Network Architect: bachelor's degree (O*NET: most in Network Architect hold one).
Move 4, to Technical Director: no degree, license or hours gate found (O*NET 31.0 and the licensing agencies checked for this job).

Move 1 Transfer move to the side
Electrical Apprentice to Lineworker (Power Line)
- O*NET lists Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers as a related occupation (Primary-Long); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.80.
- Gates: Journeyman Lineman (TDLR) license.
Move 2 Transfer move to the side
Lineworker (Power Line) to Low-Voltage Technician
- O*NET lists Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.82 (O*NET related occupation beyond the 6 drawn laterals).
- Gates: license not checked yet.
Move 3 Transfer move to the side
Low-Voltage Technician to Network Architect
- O*NET lists Computer Network Architects as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.70 (O*NET related occupation beyond the 6 drawn laterals).
- Gates: bachelor's degree (O*NET: most in Network Architect hold one).
Move 4 Transfer move to the side
Network Architect to Technical Director
- Skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.81 (one of the 3 most similar occupations, r >= 0.6).
- Gates checked: no degree, license or hours gate found (O*NET 31.0 and the licensing agencies checked for this job).

Side by side

Technical Director: 77% work more than 40 hours a week, about 2.2 times the share for Electrical Apprentice (35%).

This level's pay

A $18.34 to $34.64/h Houston apprenticeship scale (IBEW 716), 2026

B No headline record for this level

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

$58,570no difference shown$71,710

All Electricians (47-2111) at every experience level, the occupation apprentices are counted in (SOC Classification Principle 7). Mostly journeyman-level workers, so it is not apprentice pay and is never subtracted.

Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation

A +14.4% Texas, 8,100 openings a year

B +7.1% Texas, 620 openings a year

Over 40 h a week

35%+42 pts77%

Physical load our index from O*NET, 1 to 5; A B; largest differences first

4.1 / 5-2.31.8 / 5

Cramped space-2.95Cramped space: A 4.4, B 1.45
Climbing ladders-2.76Climbing ladders: A 4.2, B 1.44
Hazardous conditions-2.73Hazardous conditions: A 4.59, B 1.86
Bending or twisting-2.57Bending or twisting: A 4.68, B 2.11
Hazardous equipment-2.44Hazardous equipment: A 4.04, B 1.6

Degree

A Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 1% do).

B Most people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher (O*NET: 92%).

License

A Texas: Electrical Apprentice license (TDLR) before doing any electrical work. No experience or exam; $20 online application, renewed yearly.

B 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).

Experience

A To start: no experience and no exam for the Electrical Apprentice (TDLR) license.

B Most common related work experience: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (O*NET: 49%).

Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5

You likely have: 6

Active Learning
Learning Strategies
Operations Monitoring
Quality Control Analysis
Systems Analysis
Systems Evaluation

To build: 6

Coordination +0.88
Monitoring +0.88
Active Listening +0.62
Speaking +0.62
Critical Thinking +0.50
Reading Comprehension +0.50

Make this your goal

Save Electrical Apprentice to Technical Director 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.