Electrician vs Physical Therapist Salary
Physical Therapists earn approximately 57.4% more than Electricians nationally — $96,000 vs $61,000.
Physical Therapists earn approximately $35,000 more per year than Electricians — about 57% — with comparable entry requirements.
What it takes to get in
Electrician roles typically require a high school diploma, while Physical Therapist roles require a doctoral or professional degree. Counting everything it takes to become employable — degree plus any apprenticeship, residency, or licensing exam — that is roughly 4.5 years for Electrician and 7 for Physical Therapist.
Each requires credentials — State journeyman/master electrician license after apprenticeship for Electrician, State license via the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) for Physical Therapist. Renewals and continuing-education hours are an ongoing cost in both, not a one-time hurdle.
Pay range, not just the median
The medians hide most of what matters. Electrician pay runs from roughly $38,000 at the low end to $99,000 at the high end; Physical Therapist runs $72,260 to $130,870. The title sets the band; specialization, employer size, and location decide where inside it you actually sit.
The two bands are shaped differently. Electrician top earners make about 2.6× what beginners make, against 1.8× for Physical Therapist. A wide band means the ceiling rewards specializing and the median understates what is achievable; a narrow one means pay is more predictable and less dependent on landing the right niche.
What the work is actually like
Electrician: Residential and commercial construction sites, indoors and outdoors. Physical Therapist: Outpatient clinics, hospitals, and patients' homes; hands-on physical work.
Moving between the two
These two barely touch. Trades and Healthcare draw on separate training pipelines, and employers in one rarely read experience in the other as relevant. Budget for a real reset. Military electricians and low-voltage/cable techs transfer in easily via credit toward apprenticeship hours; unrelated trades must start the apprenticeship from zero. Physical therapist assistants can only move into this role by completing a full DPT program; PTs can pivot into sports performance, ergonomics consulting, or academia.
If you are entering rather than switching: Electrician — Complete a 4-5 year IBEW or non-union apprenticeship combining paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction, then pass the state journeyman licensing exam. Physical Therapist — Complete a bachelor's degree, then a 3-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, then pass the NPTE.
Pay ranges, education requirements, and employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. See our methodology for how these are compiled and updated.
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