Compare trades side by side

Weighing two paths? See pay, training time, and demand head to head.

Trade A

vsTrade B

Metric	Electrician	Plumber
Economic Baseline
Median annual wage	$63,190	$63,800
Wage range (entry to senior)	$42,640 to $108,510	$44,150 to $108,420
Hourly range (entry to senior)	$20.50 to $52.17/hr	$21.22 to $52.13/hr
Projected job growth	+9% over 10 yrs	+4% over 10 yrs
Market demand	Critical (10/10)	High (8/10)
Training & Time Pipeline
Entry path	Direct apprenticeship	Direct apprenticeship
Time to first paid role	1 to 3 months	1 to 3 months
Time to full qualification	4 to 5 years	4 to 5 years
Earn while you learn	Yes. Starts near 40 to 50% of journeyman scale, rising yearly	Yes. Paid apprenticeship, wage rises with hours logged
Credentialing & Regulation
State license required	Strict. State license plus exam in most states	Strict. State license plus exam in most states
Core certifications	OSHA 10 or 30, state journeyman exam	OSHA 10, state journeyman exam, backflow cert in some states
Daily Reality & EnvironmentExpanded data
Primary work setting	Indoors and outdoors: residential, commercial, and industrial sites	Indoors and outdoors: residential, commercial, and industrial sites. On-call for emergencies.
Primary safety hazard	High voltage and arc flash	Confined spaces, hazardous materials
Physical demand	High	High
Business & LifestyleExpanded data
Path to self employment	Very high. Low barrier to a residential service business	Very high. Low barrier to a service business
Union presence	High (IBEW)	Moderate to high (UA)

ElectricianPlumber

Median annual wage

$63,190

$63,800

Wage range (entry to senior)

$42,640 to $108,510

$44,150 to $108,420

Hourly range (entry to senior)

$20.50 to $52.17/hr

$21.22 to $52.13/hr

Projected job growth

+9% over 10 yrs

+4% over 10 yrs

Market demand

Critical (10/10)

High (8/10)

Entry path

Direct apprenticeship

Time to first paid role

1 to 3 months

Time to full qualification

4 to 5 years

Earn while you learn

Yes. Starts near 40 to 50% of journeyman scale, rising yearly

Yes. Paid apprenticeship, wage rises with hours logged

State license required

Strict. State license plus exam in most states

Core certifications

OSHA 10 or 30, state journeyman exam

OSHA 10, state journeyman exam, backflow cert in some states

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