What does this tool do?
The Compare Occupations tool provides a side-by-side comparison of any two occupations you choose. The comparison includes information in several areas:
- Average wages and salaries
- Common skills
- Skill gaps
- Typical training—with links to locate local programs
- Required licensing (occupational licensing varies by state)
- Related certifications
You might find this information helpful to:
- Identify skill gaps between different jobs
- Locate local training options for needed skills
- Assess employee skill sets in light of emerging opportunities
- Determine hiring, training, and compensation requirements
- Increase retention through targeted employee development
How do I get started?
To begin, you’ll be asked to select two occupations to compare:
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Enter your first occupation. In the box under “Enter your first occupation,” begin typing the name of the job or occupation (or use a keyword or O*NET code). If you see the title you are looking for pop up below your typing, select it and click “Next.” If you prefer, type your entire title or keyword and click “Next.” You’ll see a list of occupation titles that match your entry—click to select one.
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Enter or select your second occupation. Under “Compare to” you may either begin to type a second occupation OR you may want to select from the list of related occupations in the “Select an Occupation” drop-down list.
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View comparison. Click “Search” once you’ve selected your two occupations.
What can I do with these results?
Your results provide a side-by-side comparison of the two occupations you entered.
Note that some of the information varies by state. Your initial results show national data. Customize your results by entering a city, state, or ZIP code into the search box that says “US.” You can also select a radius—this will determine the geographic area searched for results.
Results include:
- Salary
- Similar skills and knowledge
- Skills and knowledge gaps
- Typical levels of training
- Licenses
- Certifications
To create another comparison, you have two options:
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Compare your first occupation to a different occupation: Use the "New comparison" button at the bottom of your results, then select another occupation to compare to the first occupation you originally entered.
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Start over with two new occupations: Click the blue “New Search” button at the top left of the page.
You can download and save your comparison results in Excel, Word, pdf or RTF formats using the "Download" button at the bottom of your results. To email or print your results, go to the options at the top right of the page in the header.
Where does this information come from?
Typical salary data is from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, May 2023 estimates.
Skills and knowledge information comes from the O*NET 29.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Typical education data come from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Education and training assignments by detailed occupation, 2023.
Information on licensed occupations is gathered in each state by Labor Market Information units under a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Certification information is collected and maintained by CareerOneStop.
For information about displaying any of this data on your own website, please visit CareerOneStop’s Web API.
Who can I contact for help?
If you have questions or comments about your results, please contact the CareerOneStop Service Center at info@careeronestop.org.