What does this tool do?
The Skills Matcher helps you identify careers that match your skills. You answer 40 questions to rate your level in a range of skills. Then you see a list of careers that are good matches for your unique set of skills.
From there, you can explore the careers on your list of matches. You can learn about average pay, typical education, and the outlook (new job opportunities expected) for jobs in that field.
How do I get started?
Get started by answering the questions. There are four pages of 10 questions each. As you read each skill, think about how you may have used that skill in a job. Use the examples as general guidelines to help you determine your level of skill. While the examples are sometimes specific to an occupation, you should think about how that level would translate to an example within your own field.
It’s important to rate each skill as accurately as you can. If you rate most or all of the skills at the same level, you may not get reliable career matches.
Once you’ve answered the questions on each page, click “Next” to see the next page of questions. When you click “Next” after the fourth page, you’ll see your career matches.
Can I change my answers while I’m taking the assessment?
Yes, you can change any answer at any time. To go back or forward to a new page, use the “Back” and “Next” buttons at the bottom of each page.
How does the Skills Matcher come up with my career matches?
The Skills Matcher uses a statistical formula to compare your 40 skills ratings to the knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) ratings associated with more than 900 O*NET occupations. While O*NET includes 120 KSAs associated with occupations, the Skills Matcher uses a subset of 40 KSAs to find the occupations that most closely match your own skill ratings.
My list of career matches looks wrong for me—can I take the assessment again?
Your list of career matches may include up to 150 careers. If you think that the careers on your list of matches are not a good fit for you, you can try one of these:
- Filter the careers by education, using the filter at the left-hand side of the list of careers.
- Change all or some of your ratings. From your page of career matches, click on “Change answers” in the upper left-hand area. You’ll go back to the questions with your answers still selected. You can now change some or all of your answers and get a new list of career matches.
- You may have skills from hobbies or sports that you would prefer not to use in your career. Try lowering your rating in those skills if your results seem to be overly influenced by them.
What can I learn from my list of career matches?
You can use your list of occupation matches to explore career ideas that may be right for you. At a glance you can see some important information about each of these careers:
Career: Click on the name of any career to find more detailed information about that career.
Annual wages: See the median salary for each career. Median wage means one half of all workers in this occupation earns less than this wage and one-half earns more.
Education: See the level of education usually needed to enter this career.
Outlook: Here you can see whether the career listed is expected to be in demand. Each career is either:
- Bright (new job opportunities are very likely in the future)
- Average (a small number—less than an 8 percent increase—of new job opportunities are likely in the future)
- Below average (new job opportunities are less likely in the future)
Please note that this does not account for the impacts of the current pandemic. Many occupations are likely to have very different outlooks due to the rapidly changing economy. When new outlook information is developed, it will be reflected here.
How can I see career matches that fit my level of education?
You can choose to see only career matches that fit your education and experience level. To do this, click on one of the links under “Filter by typical education” to the left of your table of career matches.
Where does this information come from?
Data on this tool come from several U.S. Department of Labor sources:
O*NET data used here are 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.
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 about career planning, please contact your local American Job Center. If you have questions about how the Skills Matcher works, please contact the CareerOneStop Service Center at info@careeronestop.org.