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The differences between electrical journeymen and lead electricians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an electrical journeyman and a lead electrician. Additionally, an electrical journeyman has an average salary of $61,940, which is higher than the $56,709 average annual salary of a lead electrician.
The top three skills for an electrical journeyman include switches, hand tools and EMT. The most important skills for a lead electrician are electrical equipment, hand tools, and electrical systems.
Electrical journeymen have the primary responsibility of installing, repairing, and maintaining electrical equipment. They provide their services directly to customers, explaining the extent of the equipment damage and explaining the equipment's proper usage and correct cleaning. They can also train an apprentice who aspires to be a future electrician too. A journeyman may monitor supply count, record inventories, order missing, essential supplies, and make sure the supply is safe to use.
A Lead Electrician is the one who does the maintenance, inspection, and repair, and installation of needed equipment and other electric-related things. They are the one who supervises and monitors the job of the Electrician, plans and takes action to every happening and problem that they can encounter. They also do the planning of schedule and the process of conducting an equipment check-up and maintenance. Also, they need to be knowledgeable when it comes to repairing and installing needed material and equipment.
Electrical journeymen and lead electricians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Electrical Journeyman | Lead Electrician | |
| Average salary | $61,940 | $56,709 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $87,000 | Between $38,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellingham, WA | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Constellation Energy Partners | Ameresco |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Energy |
There are a few differences between an electrical journeyman and a lead electrician in terms of educational background:
| Electrical Journeyman | Lead Electrician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Associate Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering Technology | Electrical Engineering Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between electrical journeymen' and lead electricians' demographics:
| Electrical Journeyman | Lead Electrician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% | Male, 97.4% Female, 2.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 2.2% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 2.2% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |