Helpers--Electricians vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: $43K vs $53K Median Pay

Helpers--Electricians vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: what changes?

Consider Helpers--Electricians if you want to help electricians by performing duties requiring less skill. Consider Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators if you would rather operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Helpers--Electricians and Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Helpers--Electricians

National median pay (2025): $42,670
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Strip insulation from wire ends, using wire stripping pliers, and attach wires to terminals for subsequent soldering.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 6,100

Know before you choose

BLS projects essentially flat employment (0.6%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

See the full Helpers--Electricians brief

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

National median pay (2025): $53,340
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,100

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators brief

How the national numbers differ

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has the edge on median pay

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators is at $53,340, compared with $42,670 for Helpers--Electricians.

Helpers--Electricians has the edge on annual openings

Helpers--Electricians is at 6,100 annual openings, compared with 3,100 annual openings for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

Helpers--Electricians has the edge on projected growth

Helpers--Electricians is at 0.6% projected growth, compared with -0.9% projected growth for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

40.9/ 100

Helpers--Electricians

42/ 100

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Helpers--Electricians vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Dimension	Helpers--Electricians	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Median pay (2025)	$42,670	$53,340
Pay percentile	14.7 percentile	38.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	0.6%	-0.9%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	6,100	3,100
2025 employment	65,000	42,300
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Helpers--Electricians brief Read Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators brief

Helpers--Electricians vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Helpers--Electricians

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

How the national numbers differ

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has the edge on median pay

Helpers--Electricians has the edge on annual openings

Helpers--Electricians has the edge on projected growth

Helpers--Electricians vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

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