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Lead electrician vs electrical supervisor

The differences between lead electricians and electrical supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a lead electrician, becoming an electrical supervisor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an electrical supervisor has an average salary of $90,972, which is higher than the $56,709 average annual salary of a lead electrician.

The top three skills for a lead electrician include electrical equipment, hand tools and electrical systems. The most important skills for an electrical supervisor are electrical systems, PLC, and electrical equipment.

Lead electrician vs electrical supervisor overview

Lead ElectricianElectrical Supervisor
Yearly salary$56,709$90,972
Hourly rate$27.26$43.74
Growth rate7%-
Number of jobs18,15833,839
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 33%Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age4249
Years of experience124

What does a lead electrician do?

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.

What does an electrical supervisor do?

The electrical supervisor oversees electricians' performance, training them for the repair and maintenance of equipment. They are responsible for enhancing their skills to create and design electrical operating systems in order to prevent malfunctions causing electric short circuits or shock. They also initiate the monitoring of electrical equipment. They are to help electricians install electrical equipment in establishments and homes, following standard safety protocols imposed by the state. When a defect is observed, they can quickly troubleshoot and start repair.

Lead electrician vs electrical supervisor salary

Lead electricians and electrical supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lead ElectricianElectrical Supervisor
Average salary$56,709$90,972
Salary rangeBetween $38,000 And $84,000Between $66,000 And $124,000
Highest paying CityBerkeley, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateVermontNevada
Best paying companyAmerescoMicron Technology
Best paying industryEnergyEnergy

Differences between lead electrician and electrical supervisor education

There are a few differences between a lead electrician and an electrical supervisor in terms of educational background:

Lead ElectricianElectrical Supervisor
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 33%Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common majorElectrical Engineering TechnologyElectrical Engineering
Most common college-Stanford University

Lead electrician vs electrical supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between lead electricians' and electrical supervisors' demographics:

Lead ElectricianElectrical Supervisor
Average age4249
Gender ratioMale, 97.4% Female, 2.6%Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 2.1% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage3%4%

Differences between lead electrician and electrical supervisor duties and responsibilities

Lead electrician example responsibilities.

  • Remove, analyze, identify issue install properly working pressure transducers, effectively accomplishing priorities to go underway.
  • Run all types of electrical conduit for switches, lights, fire alarms, telephone, receptacles and HVAC units.
  • Resolve plumbing and none electrical issues.
  • Repair low pressure steam boilers, HVAC systems, cooling towers, waters system, and sump pumps.
  • Calculate proper size and specifications of wire, conduit, motor controls, switches, panels, and fuses.
  • Oversee all operations of the HVAC department including installation, repair of all HVAC equipment at several island locations.
  • Show more

Electrical supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Manage electrical & technical crew, supervise ABB DCS & gauging system and entire maintenance department, as needed.
  • Design and implement layouts for electrical projects using ladders, aerial lifts and other equipment.
  • Start switchgear and circuit breaker maintenance and testing on schedule outages.
  • Diagnose problems with bad encoders and feedback equipment on CNC machines.
  • Repair and maintain motor switchgear, MCC's and various types of load centers.
  • Install all infrastructures for the HVAC system, pull cables and terminate control cabinets and relays.
  • Show more

Lead electrician vs electrical supervisor skills

Common lead electrician skills
  • Electrical Equipment, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 8%
  • Electrical Systems, 8%
  • Ladders, 6%
  • EMT, 6%
  • PLC, 5%
Common electrical supervisor skills
  • Electrical Systems, 9%
  • PLC, 7%
  • Electrical Equipment, 6%
  • Preventive Maintenance, 6%
  • Control Systems, 5%
  • OSHA, 4%

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