Compare A Journeyman Electrician ↔ B Operations Manager (Electrical Contractor)

Compare with

Your route

2 moves · +$44,660 a year, Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels

Gates on this route

Move 1, to Electrical Foreman: experience: over 10 years (O*NET, most common).
Move 2, to Operations Manager (Electrical Contractor): license depends on the work (No license for this job title at TDLR; the employer needs a TDLR Electrical Contractor license with a Master Electrician of record. Doing electrical work yourself needs your own TDLR license).

Move 1 B1 step up on Construction electrical
Journeyman Electrician to Electrical Foreman +$15,950 Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
- Next rung on 'Construction electrical' (Skilled to Lead).
- Gates: experience: over 10 years (O*NET, most common).
- Skills to build: Coordination, Negotiation, Management of Personnel Resources
Move 2 Transfer move to the side
Electrical Foreman to Operations Manager (Electrical Contractor) +$28,710 Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
- O*NET lists General and Operations Managers as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.79.
- Gates: license depends on the work (No license for this job title at TDLR; the employer needs a TDLR Electrical Contractor license with a Master Electrician of record. Doing electrical work yourself needs your own TDLR license).
- Skills to build: Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, Social Perceptiveness

Side by side

All General and Operations Managers: Texas median $103,230, $44,660 more a year than all Electricians ($58,570), every experience level.

Operations Manager (Electrical Contractor): 70% work more than 40 hours a week, about 2 times the share for Journeyman Electrician (35%).

This level's pay

A $40.75/h Houston union minimum (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

$58,570+$44,660$103,230

Gates on the route: Electrical Foreman: experience: over 10 years (O*NET, most common); Operations Manager (Electrical Contractor): license depends on the work (No license for this job title at TDLR; the employer needs a TDLR Electrical Contractor license with a Master Electrician of record. Doing electrical work yourself needs your own TDLR license).

Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation

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

B +14.5% Texas, 43,030 openings a year

Over 40 h a week

35%+35 pts70%

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

4.1 / 5-2.31.8 / 5

Hazardous conditions-3.25Hazardous conditions: A 4.59, B 1.34
Cramped space-3.21Cramped space: A 4.4, B 1.19
Climbing ladders-2.88Climbing ladders: A 4.2, B 1.32
Bending or twisting-2.72Bending or twisting: A 4.68, B 1.96
Hazardous equipment-2.68Hazardous equipment: A 4.04, B 1.36

Degree

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

B Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 28% do).

License

A Texas: Journeyman Electrician license (TDLR): 8,000 hours under a Texas Master Electrician (exam allowed at 7,000) and a TDLR exam.

B No license for this job title at TDLR; the employer needs a TDLR Electrical Contractor license with a Master Electrician of record. Doing electrical work yourself needs your own TDLR license.

Experience

A Most common related work experience: over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (O*NET: 28%).

B Most common related work experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET: 24%).

Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5

You likely have: 5

Service Orientation
Systems Analysis
Systems Evaluation
Instructing
Learning Strategies

To build: 6

Negotiation +1.25
Monitoring +0.88
Reading Comprehension +0.88
Management of Personnel Resources +0.87
Social Perceptiveness +0.87
Coordination +0.76

Make this your goal

Save Journeyman Electrician to Operations Manager (Electrical Contractor) 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.