Chief Electrician
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Chief Electrician occupation series (code 9939), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, Chief Electrician counts 30 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 3.4% from the prior period; pay averages n/a, which pays below the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 30
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- n/a
- Avg tenure
- 16.7 yrs
FedScope read on Chief Electrician (thin series)
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Chief Electrician occupation (OPM code 9939): 30 people, headcount up 3.4% versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.
Average tenure in Chief Electrician runs 16.7 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Pay averages n/a per year, down 0.0% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family (code 99) groups Chief Electrician together with 54 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Chief Electrician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family.
Within the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, Chief Electrician ranks #46 of 55 by headcount, accounting for 0.4% of the family's combined 6,786 employees.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Chief Electrician pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Chief Electrician ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of n/a is higher than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Chief Electrician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Chief Electrician ranks higher than 0%.
Related Occupations in Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System)
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steward Utilityman | 646 | n/a | 5.1 yrs |
| Ordinary Seaman | 619 | $42,990 | 2.5 yrs |
| Able Seaman-Maintenance | 556 | n/a | 11.2 yrs |
| Wiper | 449 | $42,656 | 2.9 yrs |
| Able Seaman | 338 | $51,760 | 12.1 yrs |
| Engine Utilityman | 283 | n/a | 8.5 yrs |
| Third Officer | 249 | n/a | 4.2 yrs |
| Boatswain's Mate | 199 | $60,969 | 16.9 yrs |
| Assistant Storekeeper | 194 | n/a | 6.1 yrs |
| Second Assistant Engineer | 186 | $107,628 | 13.5 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Chief Electrician outside the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (30 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Chief Electrician pays below the federal average by 100.0% (n/a vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 0th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 30 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 3.4% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Chief Electrician ranks #582 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Vessel Jobs Family (excluded From the Federal Wage System) family, Chief Electrician ranks #46 of 55 by headcount, accounting for 0.4% of the family's combined 6,786 employees.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.