Compare A Electrical Foreman ↔ B Plumber

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Your route

2 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 Plumber: Journeyman Plumber (TSBPE), Tradesman Plumber-Limited (TSBPE) license, experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET, most common).

Move 1 Transfer move to the side
Electrical Foreman to Electrical Apprentice
- O*NET lists Helpers--Electricians as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.70 (O*NET related occupation beyond the 6 drawn laterals).
- Gates: Electrical Apprentice (TDLR) license.
Move 2 Transfer move to the side
Electrical Apprentice to Plumber
- O*NET lists Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters as a related occupation (Supplemental); skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.82.
- Gates: Journeyman Plumber (TSBPE), Tradesman Plumber-Limited (TSBPE) license, experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET, most common).

Side by side

All Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters: Texas median $59,840, $14,680 less a year than all First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers ($74,520), every experience level.

Electrical Foreman: 63% work more than 40 hours a week, about 2.3 times the share for Plumber (27%).

This level's pay

A $42.79/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

$74,520-$14,680$59,840

Gates on the route: Electrical Apprentice: Electrical Apprentice (TDLR) license; Plumber: Journeyman Plumber (TSBPE), Tradesman Plumber-Limited (TSBPE) license, experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET, most common).

Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation

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

B +8.9% Texas, 4,220 openings a year

Over 40 h a week

63%-36 pts27%

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

3.0 / 5+0.73.7 / 5

Climbing ladders+1.73Climbing ladders: A 2.02, B 3.75
Cramped space+1.39Cramped space: A 2.41, B 3.8
Bending or twisting+1.17Bending or twisting: A 2.66, B 3.83
Standing+1.07Standing: A 3.62, B 4.69
High places+0.94High places: A 2.84, B 3.78

Degree

A Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 10% do).

B Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 0% do).

License

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

B Texas: Journeyman Plumber license (TSBPE): 8,000 hours as a registered apprentice, a 48-hour course or DOL apprenticeship, and an exam. Tradesman Plumber-Limited (4,000 hours) covers 1-2 family homes.

Experience

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

B Most common related work experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET: 57%).

Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5

You likely have: 6

Critical Thinking
Judgment and Decision Making
Monitoring
Complex Problem Solving
Coordination
Operation and Control

To build: 2

Repairing +1.25
Troubleshooting +1.13

Make this your goal

Save Electrical Foreman to Plumber 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 2 skills to build as a checklist. Free with an account.