A layoff can force you to reconsider what kind of work you want, what your experience qualifies you to do, and whether changing careers makes sense.
Career research helps you compare options before spending months applying for jobs that barely exist, require credentials you do not have, or pay considerably less than the title led you to believe.
Use the resources on this page to investigate:
- What people in an occupation actually do
- Which skills, education, licenses, and experience are commonly required
- How your existing skills may transfer
- What the occupation typically pays
- Whether wages differ in your location
- How many people work in the occupation
- Whether employment is expected to grow or decline
- How many openings are projected
- Which industries employ the workers
- Whether current employers are hiring
Career tools provide estimates and broad occupational information. They cannot tell you whether a particular employer will hire you, what one company will pay, or whether you will enjoy doing the work once the new-job smell wears off.
Jump to a Section
- Career-Research Tools
- Career Assessments
- Salary and Wage Research
- Employment Outlook and Projected Openings
- Research Education, Licensing, and Certification Requirements
- Investigate Related Occupations
- Build a Short Career Comparison
- Talk to People Who Do the Work
- Career-Research Warning Signs
- Before You Change Direction
Start With the Work, Not the Job Title
Job titles are inconsistent. A project coordinator at one company may schedule meetings and update spreadsheets. At another, the same title may involve budgets, vendors, reporting, training, process improvement, and enough responsibility to qualify as a project manager everywhere except the payroll system.
When researching a career:
- Search several possible job titles.
- Compare the duties and required skills.
- Look at related occupations.
- Review current job postings.
- Check national and local wage information.
- Compare projected openings with the size of the occupation.
- Identify any genuine education, licensing, or certification requirements.
Do not reject a possible career because one database uses a title you would never have thought to search. Your work may fit several occupational categories.
Career Research Tools
Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides information about hundreds of occupations.
Each occupational profile may include:
- Typical job duties
- Work environment
- Entry-level education
- Related work experience
- On-the-job training
- Median pay
- Number of jobs
- Projected employment change
- Average annual openings
- State and area wage links
- Similar occupations
- Professional associations and additional resources
You can browse occupations by category or use the Occupation Finder to filter careers by education, training, pay, projected growth, and number of new jobs.
Account required: No.
Payment information required: No.
Best for: Getting a reliable overview of an occupation’s duties, typical entry requirements, national pay, projected growth, and related careers.
Watch for: The education listed is the level typically needed to enter the occupation. It is not necessarily a legal requirement, and it does not mean every employer demands it or that experience can never substitute for education.
The wage shown is generally the occupation’s national median. It is not a guaranteed starting salary. Half of the workers included in the estimate earn less and half earn more.
Employment projections are estimates covering a ten-year period. They are not promises that jobs will be available in your location.
O*NET OnLine
O*NET OnLine provides detailed information for more than 1,000 occupations. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and is especially useful when you need more detail than a general career summary provides.
Occupational reports may include:
- Common job titles
- Tasks and work activities
- Knowledge areas
- Skills and abilities
- Technology and software used
- Work styles
- Work values
- Education and experience
- Credentials
- Work context
- Related occupations
- Wage and employment information
- Whether the occupation has a Bright Outlook designation
You can search by job title or keyword and browse by:
- Career cluster
- Industry
- Job family
- Job Zone
- Interests
- Skills
- Work activities
- Tools and technology
- Bright Outlook status
Account required: No.
Payment information required: No.
Best for: Identifying transferable skills, finding related occupations, learning the language employers may use in job descriptions, and examining the tools and activities associated with a job.
Watch for: O*NET occupational profiles describe an occupation across many employers. A particular job may involve only part of the profile or may combine duties from several occupations.
The tools-and-technology section can help you identify commonly reported software, but it is not a live count of what every employer currently requires. Confirm the current demand by reviewing recent job postings.
Understanding O*NET Job Zones
O*NET groups occupations into five Job Zones based on the education, experience, and training commonly needed.
Lower-numbered zones generally involve less preparation. Higher-numbered zones generally require more education, experience, or specialized training.
A Job Zone is a broad occupational classification, not an employer’s hiring rule. Do not treat it as proof that you are automatically qualified or disqualified.
Use it to compare the general preparation required for different occupations, then check actual job postings and any licensing laws that apply.
CareerOneStop
CareerOneStop is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Its career tools combine occupational descriptions with wage, education, employment, and state-specific information.
The Occupation Profile allows you to search by occupation and location. Depending on the occupation and available data, the report may include:
- Job duties
- Skills, knowledge, and abilities
- Education and training
- Certifications and licenses
- National and state wages
- Employment projections
- Current employment estimates
- Related occupations
- Job openings
- Training programs
- Videos and additional resources
CareerOneStop also provides tools to:
- Compare occupations
- Find local salary information
- Explore careers by education level
- Review careers with the most openings
- Identify fastest-growing careers
- Match skills with possible occupations
- Explore work interests and values
- Find licenses, certifications, and training
Account required: No for the career-research tools listed here.
Payment information required: No.
Best for: Comparing occupations and viewing national and state information in one place.
Watch for: National and state information may come from different data periods. State projections are produced separately and may not cover the same years as national projections.
Check the date and location shown with each result before comparing numbers.
My Next Move
My Next Move is an O*NET career-exploration website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
You can:
- Search careers by keyword
- Browse careers by industry
- Review duties, skills, education, and salary information
- Explore careers by preparation level
- Identify Bright Outlook occupations
- Take the O*NET Interest Profiler
The occupational pages use somewhat plainer language than the full O*NET reports, which can make them easier to use during the early stages of career exploration.
Account required: No.
Payment information required: No.
Best for: Exploring unfamiliar occupations and generating ideas when you are not sure which job titles to research.
Watch for: An interest assessment suggests occupations associated with the kinds of activities you report liking. It does not measure whether you are qualified, whether jobs are available, or whether the occupation can meet your income needs.
Treat the results as possibilities to investigate, not a computer-generated career commandment.
Career Assessments
Career assessments may help you identify interests, skills, and working conditions that matter to you. They are most useful for generating possibilities or explaining patterns you already suspected.
CareerOneStop provides free assessments covering:
Interests
The Interest Assessment asks about activities you might like or dislike and identifies occupations connected with those interests.
CareerOneStop Interest Assessment
Skills
The Skills Matcher allows you to rate workplace skills and explore occupations that use them.
Work Values
The Work Values Matcher helps identify which parts of work matter most to you, such as independence, achievement, recognition, relationships, support, or working conditions.
CareerOneStop Work Values Matcher
Account required: No.
Payment information required: No.
Watch for: Assessments depend on how you answer. Results can also be shaped by what you have already done, what you believe you are good at, and which choices the tool provides.
No short assessment can determine your one true calling. It can give you a research list. The rest requires evidence.
Salary and Wage Research
Salary research is useful for evaluating career options, preparing for interviews, and deciding whether an offer is reasonable.
It is also easy to misuse.
A salary figure may represent:
- A national estimate
- A state estimate
- A metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area
- A specific industry
- A median
- An average
- A percentile
- Self-reported salaries
- Posted salary ranges
- Base pay only
- Total compensation
- Workers at every experience level
- A tiny number of reports carrying a suspicious amount of confidence
Before relying on a number, identify:
- The occupation
- The geographic area
- The year of the data
- Whether it is a median or average
- Whether bonuses, commissions, tips, or benefits are included
- Whether the figure represents experienced workers or likely starting pay
- Whether the source explains how the data were collected
Do not mash several salary figures together and call the result market value. Compare like with like.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Wage Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, or OEWS, program publishes employment and wage estimates for approximately 830 occupations.
Estimates are available for:
- The United States
- States
- Metropolitan areas
- Nonmetropolitan areas
- Selected territories
- Industries
Occupational profiles may show:
- Estimated employment
- Employment per 1,000 jobs
- Hourly and annual mean wages
- Wage percentiles
- Industries with the highest employment
- Industries with higher concentrations of workers
- Industries with the highest reported wages
- States and areas with high employment or wages
Account required: No.
Payment information required: No.
Best for: Comparing occupational pay across locations and industries using official employer-survey data.
Watch for: OEWS covers wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments. It does not include self-employed workers, owners and partners in unincorporated businesses, household workers, or unpaid family workers.
The estimates describe groups of workers. They do not guarantee what one employer will offer.
A high-paying area may also have a high cost of living. A high-paying industry may employ very few people in the occupation. Always check the employment estimate along with the wage.
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan estimates
Understanding the Numbers
Median Versus Average
The median is the middle of the wage distribution. Half of workers earn more and half earn less.
The average, also called the mean, is calculated by adding the wages and dividing by the number of workers. A smaller number of unusually high salaries can pull the average upward.
For many career comparisons, the median provides a more useful starting point
Neither figure tells you what a new worker will earn.
Wage Percentiles
A wage percentile shows where a worker’s pay falls within the estimated distribution.
For example, the 25th percentile is the wage at which 25% of workers earn less and 75% earn more.
The 10th or 25th percentile may provide more context for entry-level or lower-paid positions, but it is not automatically a starting salary. Experience, location, industry, credentials, union coverage, shift differentials, and employer size can all affect pay.
Annual and Hourly Pay
Some annual wage figures are calculated from an hourly wage using a standard full-time schedule. That does not mean every worker receives full-time hours, paid leave, overtime, or year-round employment.
For occupations with irregular schedules, commissions, tips, seasonal employment, or extensive self-employment, an annual estimate may not describe a typical worker’s actual income particularly well.
National and Local Wages
National figures are useful for broad comparisons. Local figures are more useful when you must decide whether an occupation is financially realistic where you live.
If local data are unavailable, look at:
- State estimates
- Nearby metropolitan areas
- The applicable nonmetropolitan area
- Current advertised salary ranges
- Comparable employers in the same industry
Remote work does not eliminate geography from pay. Some employers use national rates, while others adjust salaries based on the employee’s location.
Salary Is Not Total Compensation
A job with lower base pay may include valuable health insurance, retirement contributions, paid leave, bonuses, union benefits, or a predictable schedule.
A contract role with higher stated pay may include none of those things and may also require the worker to handle taxes and insurance.
Compare the entire arrangement, not just the number wearing the biggest hat.
Employment Outlook and Projected Openings
Employment outlook data can help you understand whether an occupation is expected to grow, remain relatively stable, or decline.
However, two different figures matter:
Projected Growth Rate
The growth rate shows the expected percentage change in employment over the projection period.
A small occupation can have rapid percentage growth while producing relatively few openings.
Projected Openings
Projected annual openings include:
- Newly created positions
- Openings created when workers leave the occupation
- Openings created when workers leave the workforce
An occupation can show little growth or even decline while still producing openings because workers retire or move into other occupations.
Do not look only for careers labeled fastest growing. Also check:
- The current size of the occupation
- Projected annual openings
- Local employment projections
- Required education or licensing
- Typical pay
- Whether employers are currently posting jobs
A career growing by 30% sounds mighty impressive until you discover the increase amounts to twelve jobs scattered across the country.
Compare National and Local Demand
National projections do not tell you whether an occupation is strong in your community.
Demand may vary because of:
- Major local employers
- Population changes
- State licensing rules
- Government funding
- Industry concentration
- Rural or urban location
- Seasonal work
- Military installations
- Manufacturing facilities
- Hospitals or universities
- Local business closures
- Remote-work availability
CareerOneStop provides state employment projections and links to state labor-market information.
You can also find your state’s labor-market information office through the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
State labor-market information contacts
State projections may use different time periods. Verify the years shown before comparing one state with another or comparing state data with national projections.
Check Current Job Postings
Government career data provide the wider picture. Current job postings show what employers are asking for right now.
Search multiple reputable job boards and company career pages for the occupation you are considering. Review enough postings to identify patterns rather than treating one employer’s wish list as holy scripture.
Track:
- Job titles used
- Location
- Remote, hybrid, or on-site requirements
- Required duties
- Required and preferred education
- Years of experience
- Software and tools
- Licenses and certifications
- Salary ranges
- Schedule and travel requirements
- Industry experience
- Whether the position is employee or contract work
- How often similar jobs appear
- Whether the same posting has been recycled for months
Save at least 10 to 20 representative postings when possible.
Separate the requirements into:
- Appears repeatedly
- Appears occasionally
- Appears in only one posting
- Legally required
- Preferred but not required
- Something you already have
- Something you could learn
- Something requiring substantial time or money
This will tell you far more than a single article declaring that everybody should become a data scientist by next Tuesday.
Research Education, Licensing, and Certification Requirements
Career profiles describe what is typical. Some occupations have legal requirements that must be verified separately.
Before enrolling in training, determine whether the occupation requires:
- A state license
- A certification from a specific organization
- Graduation from an approved program
- Supervised work experience
- A background check
- Continuing education
- Periodic renewal
- A separate examination
- Different credentials in different states
Check the responsible state licensing board or government agency. Do not rely only on a school, course provider, or certification salesperson to explain whether its program qualifies you.
Also distinguish among:
- A certificate of completion
- An industry certification
- A professional license
- A college certificate
- A degree
- Continuing-education credit
Those terms are not interchangeable.
Use the detailed guidance on the Skills and Training page before paying for a program.
Investigate Related Occupations
A career change does not always require starting over.
Related occupations may use the same:
- Administrative abilities
- Industry knowledge
- Customer relationships
- Technical skills
- Software
- Writing or communication skills
- Project experience
- Regulatory knowledge
- Leadership experience
- Equipment or tools
Use the Similar Occupations section in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Related Occupations sections in O*NET and CareerOneStop.
Then compare:
- Which duties overlap
- Which qualifications you already meet
- What gaps remain
- Whether the new occupation pays enough
- Whether local employers are hiring
- Whether the change requires formal training or simply better translation of your experience
Sometimes the career change is not a leap. It is the same work wearing a different nametag.
Build a Short Career Comparison
If you are considering several directions, compare them using the same criteria.
For each occupation, record:
- Common job titles
- Core duties
- Required skills
- Required education
- Required licenses or certifications
- Experience commonly requested
- National median wage
- State or local wage range
- Projected growth
- Projected annual openings
- Local employers
- Number of current relevant postings
- Remote-work availability
- Schedule or travel requirements
- Skills you already have
- Skills or credentials you would need
- Cost and time required to become competitive
- Whether the work meets your financial and practical needs
Limit the first round to a manageable number of occupations. Researching four realistic possibilities is more useful than collecting 47 job titles and developing a color-coded relationship with indecision.
Talk to People Who Do the Work
Occupational data describe patterns. People doing the work can explain the parts that never make it into a government profile.
Ask about:
- What a normal week involves
- Which duties consume the most time
- Which skills matter most
- How people commonly enter the field
- Which credentials employers actually value
- What beginners misunderstand
- What the work schedule is really like
- Which parts of the job are stressful or unstable
- How advancement usually works
- Whether layoffs, contract work, or seasonal employment are common
- What they would investigate before entering the field now
You are requesting information, not cornering a stranger into becoming your mentor or smuggling your résumé into HR.
Verify important claims elsewhere. One person’s workplace may be unusually good, unusually terrible, or run by a man who thinks a shared spreadsheet is a cybersecurity incident.
Career-Research Warning Signs
Pause before committing to a career direction when:
- The occupation exists mainly in training-provider advertisements
- Search results show many courses but few actual jobs
- Salary claims do not identify a source, location, or data year
- The advertised pay reflects experienced workers rather than beginners
- Most available positions are commission-only or independent-contractor work
- Entry-level postings demand several years of experience
- The occupation requires a license the program does not provide
- The “credential” is issued only by the company selling the course
- National growth appears strong but local demand is weak
- Job postings disappear when you search company career pages
- Most jobs require relocation, travel, or a schedule you cannot accept
- The cost of qualifying is high compared with likely earnings
- The occupation has appealing duties but working conditions you cannot tolerate
- An assessment result is the only evidence supporting the choice
A career can be legitimate and still be a poor investment for your location, finances, responsibilities, or existing experience.
Before You Change Direction
You should be able to answer:
- What work would I actually perform?
- Which job titles do employers use?
- Which industries employ these workers?
- What qualifications are legally required?
- What qualifications do employers commonly request?
- Which requirements do I already meet?
- What gaps would I need to close?
- How much would closing those gaps cost?
- What is the realistic starting pay in my area?
- How many relevant jobs are currently available?
- Is employment projected to grow, remain stable, or decline?
- How many annual openings are projected?
- Are those openings available where I can work?
- Would I need to relocate, travel, or accept an undesirable schedule?
- Is the work commonly permanent, temporary, contract, seasonal, or commission-based?
- Does the likely result justify the time, cost, and risk?
Career research cannot remove uncertainty. It can keep you from paying $12,000 for a shiny new path that ends at the same unemployment website where you started.
Resource directory last reviewed: August 2026
Website features, pricing, account requirements, and availability can change without notice. If you discover a broken link or outdated information, please use our Corrections page to let us know.