Compare A Pipelayer ↔ B Electrical Foreman

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Your route

3 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 Electrical Apprentice: Electrical Apprentice (TDLR) license.
Move 2, to Journeyman Electrician: Journeyman Electrician (TDLR) license, 8,000 h on the job (7,000 h to sit the exam).
Move 3, to Electrical Foreman: experience: over 10 years (O*NET, most common).

Move 1 Transfer move to the side
Pipelayer to Electrical Apprentice
- Skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.82 (one of the 3 most similar occupations, r >= 0.6).
- Gates: Electrical Apprentice (TDLR) license.
Move 2 B1 step up on Construction electrical
Electrical Apprentice to Journeyman Electrician
- Next rung on 'Construction electrical' (Start to Skilled). Texas: 8,000 hours to the license.
- Gates: Journeyman Electrician (TDLR) license, 8,000 h on the job (7,000 h to sit the exam).
- TDLR Journeyman application (by mail, non-refundable) $30 · PSI exam, both parts $78
  TDLR, PSI
  - TDLR: Apply for a New Journeyman Electrician License, read 2026-10-01
  - PSI candidate information bulletin for TDLR electricians (updated September 15, 2026), read 2026-10-01
Move 3 B1 step up on Construction electrical
Journeyman Electrician to Electrical Foreman
- 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

Side by side

All First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers: Texas median $74,520, $28,900 more a year than all Pipelayers ($45,620), every experience level.

Electrical Foreman: 63% work more than 40 hours a week, about 3.6 times the share for Pipelayer (17%).

This level's pay

A No headline record for this level

B $42.79/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

$45,620+$28,900$74,520

Gates on the route: Electrical Apprentice: Electrical Apprentice (TDLR) license; Journeyman Electrician: Journeyman Electrician (TDLR) license, 8,000 h on the job (7,000 h to sit the exam); Electrical Foreman: experience: over 10 years (O*NET, most common).

Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation

A +0.2% Texas, 480 openings a year

B +10.0% Texas, 8,780 openings a year

Over 40 h a week

17%+45 pts63%

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

3.1 / 5-0.13.0 / 5

High places+1.53High places: A 1.31, B 2.84
Bending or twisting-1.11Bending or twisting: A 3.77, B 2.66
Cramped space-1.01Cramped space: A 3.42, B 2.41
Hazardous equipment+1.00Hazardous equipment: A 3.18, B 4.18
Hazardous conditions+0.81Hazardous conditions: A 2.14, B 2.95

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: 10% do).

License

A Texas: yard water lines and building sewers for 1-2 family homes are plumbing (TSBPE Residential Utilities Installer registration). Utility mains and most private site mains are exempt (1301.053, 1301.059).

B Usually holds the TDLR Journeyman Electrician license from the previous rung; TDLR has no separate foreman license (license list checked).

Experience

A Most common related work experience: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (O*NET: 19%).

B Most common related work experience: over 10 years (O*NET: 30%).

Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5

You likely have: 1

Quality Control Analysis

To build: 6

Management of Personnel Resources +1.62
Active Learning +1.00
Instructing +1.00
Learning Strategies +1.00
Negotiation +1.00
Persuasion +1.00

Make this your goal

Save Pipelayer to Electrical Foreman 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.