Henry Ford revolutionized industry in 1913 when he constructed a factory in which each worker assembled just one part of a car before sending it down a production line to another worker. Up to that point, automobiles were made from the ground up by a team of highly paid workers. As a result, automobiles had been an expensive means of transportation, a toy for the wealthy. Ford's innovation …
Good jobs do not magically appear. Anyone who has been in the job market knows that landing the right job takes planning, preparation, perseverance, and patience. This is true whether you are looking for your first job, reentering the job market, trying to get a new job, or planning a mid-career change. This essay is designed to guide you through the process of finding a job, from helping you defi…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$23,317 to $27,310 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Banks simplify people's lives, but the business of banking is anything but simple. Every transaction—from cashing a check to taking out a loan—requires careful record keeping. Behind the scenes in every bank or savings and loan association there are dozens of bank cle…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$21,120 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Bank tellers receive and process money when customers make deposits. They also distribute money when customers write checks on their accounts or withdraw savings. Tellers perform many other services as well. They cash payroll checks, exchange foreign currency, receive loan payments, and issue travel…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$27,040 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Billing clerks calculate how much money customers owe a business and then prepare customers' bills. To calculate a statement, the billing clerk will compile documents and records, such as purchase orders, sales tickets, and hospital records. They then tally the bill and calculate if any disco…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$28,570 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Bookkeepers keep financial records that track a company's expenditures, profit and loss, cash flow, and other financial activities. Bookkeepers usually work for the accounting departments of their companies. Bookkeepers employ database and spreadsheet computer programs to do their record keep…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$35,235 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Brokerage clerks work for securities or brokerage firms. They are responsible for preparing and maintaining the records of financial transactions involving stocks, bonds, and other types of investments. Purchase-and-sale clerks match orders to buy with orders to sell and balance and verify stock tra…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Poor Business machine operators run equipment such as duplicators and copiers that perform routine office tasks. An office that regularly produces a large volume of printed material may have its own copying department. Copying machine operators make copies of reports, charts, drawings, letters, and circulars.…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$29,340 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Offices that receive large quantities of mail and e-mail depend on correspondence clerks, or correspondents. These clerks answer letters and e-mail that do not require the personal attention of an executive. Some replies are routine, allowing the correspondent to send a form letter or e-mail. For re…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$29,058 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Credit has existed in one form or another for years. In the days of the general store, for example, it made good business sense for the storekeeper to extend credit privileges to customers who would pay in the future. This encouraged purchases by making it more convenient for would-be buyers who did…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$27,456 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Credit collectors, also known as bill and account collectors, try to convince debtors—people who owe money—to pay their overdue bills. They work from bad debt files given to them by creditors who have not been able to get the debtors to pay through normal billing procedures. Credi…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$27,020 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Customer service representatives are employed by all types of companies to field questions and concerns from customers. They typically work at the front desk of a local office branch or at a cubicle in a corporation's call center. They may communicate with customers over the phone, by e-…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$23,250 per year Employment Outlook: Poor A large and ever increasing amount of information is stored on computers. Banks store information on every check written against their customers' accounts. State governments record information on drivers' licenses and motor vehicle registrations. Insurance companies keep records of the…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$21,029 per year Employment Outlook: Poor File clerks are the guardians of a company's important documents. They are responsible for creating and maintaining an efficient and accessible filing system. Clerks gather material from the company's departments, sort it, and arrange it. While some offices still use a paper file and f…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$31,750 per year Employment Outlook: Good Human resources assistants assist human resources managers or administrators. They provide clerical and technical support in such areas as recruiting, hiring, compensation, and benefits. These assistants gather information on employees' training, skills, wages, promotions, and general work hi…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$23,670 to $33,114 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Interviewers assist people with such tasks as opening bank accounts and filling out medical documents, charge account applications, consumer surveys, and other forms. Interviewers may work for financial institutions (such as banks or credit unions), health-care facilities, market research…
Education and Training: None Salary: Median—$23,650 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Mail clerks sort and deliver mail that comes to business offices. They prepare mail to be turned over to the post office or to a private shipping company. Mail clerks work for government agencies, insurance companies, advertising agencies, schools, mail order firms, and almost every business that receives …
Education and Training: High school Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Fair Many nongovernmental agencies provide express delivery service of mail and packages in the United States and abroad. These shipping companies will guarantee overnight or express delivery, or customers are refunded their money. They also offer some additional mail-related services. Many employees are need…
Education and Training: None Salary: Median—$20,190 per year Employment Outlook: Poor The efficiency of every business depends in part on the flow of letters, paperwork, and packages. This flow may be between departments in the same company and building or between businesses in different locations. It is the job of a messenger service worker to make pickups and deliveries of some of this ma…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$22,770 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Office clerks do many jobs that are basic to office work. Clerks make up payrolls and bills. They enter data on a computer, scan documents, sort mail, answer e-mail, and file papers and reports. Clerks work in government offices, insurance companies, and hospitals. They work for department stores, m…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$30,350 per year Employment Outlook: Good Payroll clerks compute and record the earnings owed to each company employee on a computer and ensure employees are paid on time. This recording is known as posting. The information for the calculations is often taken from paper worksheets and work tickets. In offices where automated timekeeping sys…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$21,840 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Most people form an impression of a company the instant they walk through the front door. If visitors are greeted by an alert and pleasant receptionist and are then efficiently directed to their destination, they will have the feeling that the company is well run. On the other hand, if the rece…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$31,390 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Statistical assistants establish and check numerical facts in many different areas of business, government, and industry. Statistical assistants compile and record data and make computations. Statistical assistants work for insurance companies, banks, and stock brokerages. They also work for researc…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$28,392 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Although the majority of telephone calls are dialed directly, some calls require the assistance of a telephone operator. An operator may be needed to place a collect call, supply a telephone number in a distant city, or find out the cost of a call. Two types of telephone operators provide these serv…
Education and Training: High school Salary: Median—$27,020 per year Employment Outlook: Good Telephone service representatives work for telephone companies. They deal directly with the public, handling requests for new telephone services and answering questions about bills or payments. Customers typically contact them through a toll-free telephone number. During the course of their conversa…
Education and Training: High School Salary: Median—$28,030 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Word processors set up and prepare reports, letters, mailing labels, and other materials on a computer using a keyboard and word processing software. The word processor uses word processing commands to format the material and instruct the machine to correct spelling or grammar errors, number pages a…
Education and Training: High school plus training Salary: Median—$34,970 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Administrative assistants work for managers and executives. Some organizations do not distinguish between executive secretaries and administrative assistants. In organizations that distinguish between the two, administrative assistants tend to spend more time on long-range assignments.…
Education and Training: High school; license Salary: Median—$44,080 per year Employment Outlook: Good Claims adjusters ascertain how much money people are entitled to receive on their insurance claims. Most claims adjusters work for property-liability insurance companies. Property-liability insurance covers such losses as fires, thefts, and accidents. People who buy this insurance protect t…
Education and Training: Two- or four-year college Salary: Median—$33,669 per year Employment Outlook: Good Claims examiners review claims made against insurance companies. Examiners, who are sometimes called reviewers, are employed by life and health insurance companies. Claims examiners are responsible for approving or rejecting claims or arranging settlements. Unlike claims adjusters, who…
Education and Training: High school plus training Salary: Median—$35,152 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Computer and office machine repairers install, maintain, and repair the hardware components of computer systems, copiers, faxes, and other office equipment. Hardware components are the physical components of a computer or office machine, such as the microprocessor, memory boards, monit…
Education and Training: High school plus training Salary: Median—$31,070 per year Employment Outlook: Poor Computer operators manage the operation of computer hardware systems. They are often required to work with most types of computers, including minicomputers, mainframes, and networks of personal computers. Computer operators must maintain the computer hardware as well as solve any probl…
Education and Training: High school plus training Salary: Median—$40,970 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Employment interviewers are matchmakers; they help job seekers find suitable job openings and employers find qualified staff. They may work for private employment agencies or for state government employment services. Employers often ask private agencies to search for workers to fi…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Median—$39,620 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Meeting planners are professional decision makers who manage all facets of meeting preparation and presentation. Depending on their employer, meeting planners may be known as association executives, corporate meeting planners, or independent meeting planners. An association execut…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Fair Secretaries perform several office tasks within one job. They do word processing and data entry. They may take shorthand. Secretaries also file papers, answer telephones, schedule appointments, and handle mail for their employers. Secretaries are employed by business, professional, governme…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Good Software quality assurance technicians and software quality assurance analysts conduct tests on computer software programs to make sure the programs perform properly and are fairly easy to use. The testing may be done on both new programs and updated or modified versions of existing program…
Education and Training: High school plus training Salary: Median—$32,000 per year Employment Outlook: Good Tax preparers work for independent or franchised tax preparation services and sometimes for lawyers or accountants involved in tax work. They use their knowledge of federal, state, and local tax codes and publications to prepare tax returns and make sure that their clients do not pay u…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Fair Union business agents represent the interests of the members of their labor union. They are elected by the members and paid by the union to speak on its behalf to both management and the public. Business agents work at the level of the union local. The term "union local" refer…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$50,770 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Businesses have money coming in—income—and money going out—expenditures. Records must be kept of all this money. Companies must keep accurate records of their costs and their profits and losses to satisfy legal requirements and appease shareholders. Accurate financial records a…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$50,770 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Accountants are experts at preparing and analyzing financial reports. These reports include balance sheets, income and loss statements, and tax returns. Public accountants work for firms that offer their services to the public on a fee basis. Accounting firms may be retained by individuals who need…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$76,340 per year Employment Outlook: Very good What are the chances that a twenty-one-year-old will live to age sixty-five? How much do people lose every year because of fires, floods, or robbery? Actuaries work with numbers and facts to answer such questions. By checking facts, working with statistics programs, and constructing probability cha…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$50,770 per year Employment Outlook: Very good An auditor is a type of accountant. The main job of the auditor is verification of a company's financial records. Auditors study various sources to find out whether a company's records present its true financial situation. They check the company's bookkeeping and accounting met…
Education and Training: College Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Poor Bank officers and managers manage banks. They work at various levels of the banking industry. Within the industry there are many different kinds of banks offering full service or specialized types of checking, savings, loan, and trust fund services. Banks vary in size, from the small local bank with just one…
Education and Training: Advanced degree Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Good College/university administrators maintain, develop, coordinate, and oversee the various programs in public and private colleges and universities. There are many different types of administrators. They may be responsible for a variety of tasks ranging from financial aid to student activities. The pre…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$47,490 per year Employment Outlook: Very good To attract and keep competent employees, employers must pay salaries and provide benefits that are competitive and equitable. Compensation and benefits analysts evaluate existing and proposed jobs and classify them according to their levels of responsibility and importance to the employer. They res…
Education and Training: College plus training Salary: Median—$92,570 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Computer and information systems managers direct and manage various computer-related activities of a company. They construct business plans, oversee Internet and computer operations, assign projects to staff members, and direct the flow of work. Computer and information systems manage…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$85,904 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent The widespread use of computers in businesses of all sizes has created a need for computer consultants. Companies that are large enough to computerize their operations but too small to need a computer specialist on staff usually hire computer consultants on a contract or retainer basis. Most comput…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$60,650 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent Computer database administrators design, write, and take care of computer database systems so that the right person can get the right information at the right time. A database is simply a collection of computer files full of information that a company may wish to track. This information may include…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$60,600 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent Computer network technicians build and maintain computer networks used by business, education, government, and health-care institutions. Networks linking desktop computers allow users to send electronic mail (e-mail) and to share data, computer applications, and Internet connections. As more instit…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$62,890 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Computer programmers write the step-by-step instructions that direct computers to process information. These instructions, or programs, tell the computer what to do in a series of logical steps. Programmers work on a wide range of projects. The kind of work a programmer does depends on the employer. Pro…
Education and Training: College Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Very good As computer networks grow and more sensitive data is stored on computer files, the need for trained, skilled computer security specialists will also grow. Computer security specialists help businesses, educational institutions, and government organizations to control access to their computer networks an…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$53,490 per year Employment Outlook: Very good A computer software documentation writer is the most common type of technical writer. Computer software documentation writers research and write the instructional guides, online and desktop help guides, reference manuals, and job aids for computer software. Software is a term for the computer progr…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$80,519 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent Computer software engineers develop and maintain computer software programs, which are coded instructions that tell the computer what to do in logical steps. Software engineers work on a wide range of projects. They work in manufacturing, industry, engineering, government offices, and educational i…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Median—$40,430 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Computer support specialists help people with computer problems. Some computer support specialists called help-desk technicians field phone calls or e- mails or make house calls for people who are having difficulty with a particular piece of computer hardware or software. Most of …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$66,480 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent Computer systems analysts analyze business or scientific tasks and plan and develop the hardware systems and software that allow a computer to complete these tasks. These analysts, sometimes called systems analysts, may also work on improving computer systems already in use. They are employed by a …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$167,898 per year Employment Outlook: Good Controllers are in charge of coordinating, planning, and reporting on the financial activities of a large organization. Controllers work for banks, corporations, and government agencies. They set financial policies. Often they are in charge of the accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing departments and s…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$72,329 per year Employment Outlook: Good When a credit card company or other business loans money or issues a credit card to a customer, they must ensure to some degree that the customer will be able to repay the loan/credit with interest some time in the future. Most businesses check that the customer has ample income and pays bills in full a…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$66,530 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Employee benefits managers, sometimes referred to as employee benefits specialists or professional benefits administrators, are responsible for developing and administering employee benefits programs, such as pension plans, 401(k) retirement plans, medical and life insurance, and education benefits…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$45,570 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Employment counselors work with individuals, and sometimes with groups, to assist them in making wise career decisions. To help their clients find the right type of job, counselors collect and assess information about education, previous employment experience, skills, interests, and personal inform…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$70,192 per year Employment Outlook: Very good When companies want to fill a senior management position, they often use the services of an executive search firm. The job of the executive search recruiters who work for these firms is to fill high-level positions with the most suitable people available. A company will provide an executive search …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$61,910 per year Employment Outlook: Good Financial analysts, also called securities or investment analysts, examine financial information in order to make sound suggestions to businesses on how to invest money. Financial analysts often use statistical software and spreadsheets to analyze the facts they gather. Financial analysts then make repo…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Median—$62,700 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Financial planners help individuals and groups plan the use of their savings, income, and investments. Some are self-employed consultants who offer workshops that teach people how to analyze their own financial situations. Other financial planners operate financial planning busine…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$77,420 per year Employment Outlook: Good A general manager directs and coordinates the operations of a small business or a department in a company. Medium-sized and large companies are divided into production, sales, promotion, purchasing, and other departments, and a general manager is typically in charge of each of these divisions. In a smal…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$81,810 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Human resources managers manage the needs of a company's employees. They develop and manage employment programs, salary compensation and job evaluations, benefits, promotions, equal opportunity initiatives, and education and training programs. In large companies one human resources manager m…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$48,550 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Insurance underwriters evaluate applications for insurance policies. They assess the degree of risk to the insurance company of the person or property listed on the application. An insurance "risk" is the probability that the applicant will have to collect under the terms of the policy. By…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Varies—see profile The Internet—a worldwide network of computer networks—offers businesses and individuals a relatively inexpensive way to communicate with a global audience. The development of the Internet over the past forty years has opened an entirely new medium for comm…
Education and Training: Advanced degree plus training Salary: Starting—$45,000 to $85,000 per year Employment Outlook: Good Investment bankers arrange and negotiate large financial transactions. They are employed by investment banking firms to act as advisers to client companies and to initiate moneymaking ventures for their own firms. Investment bankers are also employed by large commercia…
Education and Training: Advanced degree plus experience Salary: Median—$63,450 per year Employment Outlook: Good Management analysts, sometimes referred to as management consultants, provide corporations and government agencies with the expertise needed to solve management problems quickly. These problems may result from rapid expansion, business relocation, technical innovations, or compet…
Education and Training: Varies—see profile Salary: Median—$58,190 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent A network administrator oversees computer networks to ensure that they function smoothly. A network consists of a grouping of computers that communicate with each other or a central computer known as a server, on which computer files, programs, and other information are stored. A …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$41,030 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Office managers supervise administrative support workers, such as office clerks and secretaries, and coordinate administrative support activities. They work in all types of business and government offices. Office managers may head the entire office in a small firm or administrative support operations in…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$40,670 per year Employment Outlook: Good Office planners, also known as office designers or facilities engineers, design the layout of office spaces. They create new offices or redesign existing facilities, taking into account factors such as the site's functions, staff interactions, traffic flow, and the machinery that is used. Office …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$60,190 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Operations research analysts are problem solvers. They try to find more efficient and effective ways to run operations such as factories, telephone networks, traffic systems, and other concerns. For example, analysts might determine how to time traffic lights to produce fewer traffic jams. Operations re…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$61,769 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent Organization development is usually considered to be a specialized branch of management consulting. Organizational developers help corporate clients plan and implement programs to increase their organization's efficiency. They also help clients institute policies that enable their organizati…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$52,800 per year Employment Outlook: Excellent World competition and increased technology have taken their toll on middle managers. Companies now find that they have to operate with fewer managerial personnel. In the past when these managers lost their jobs, they received only financial compensation. More recently companies have been using the …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$41,190 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Recruiters seek out, interview, and test applicants to locate qualified employees for job openings. Recruiters—also called personnel recruiters or employment, recruitment, and placement specialists—often travel to universities and colleges to interview promising students for employmen…
Education and Training: College Salary: Varies—see profile Employment Outlook: Fair Resume writers prepare resumes, or summaries of the qualifications of an applicant who is searching for a job. Resume writers are aware that potential employers may only look briefly at a resume. Therefore, they prepare an applicant's resume so that it makes a favorable impression quickly. Resume writ…
Education and Training: College plus training Salary: Median—$69,200 per year Employment Outlook: Good The securities broker is an essential link between a consumer and the world's financial markets. Securities brokers, also called securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents, advise customers who want to make financial investments. Securities brokers arrange for the …
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$44,570 per year Employment Outlook: Very good A software trainer is a type of training specialist who teaches individuals how to use computer applications or programs such as spreadsheets, desktop publishing programs, or computer network systems software. The nature of the job requires knowledge of computer software programs and strong communi…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$58,620 per year Employment Outlook: Fair Statisticians collect and analyze mathematical data to solve problems and make predictions on future outcomes. They apply their knowledge to many different fields, including manufacturing, government, science, engineering, and public health. Using statistical techniques, statisticians can make forecasts…
Education and Training: College Salary: Median—$44,570 per year Employment Outlook: Very good Training and development specialists help businesses, institutions, and government agencies to develop, carry out, and evaluate training programs for their employees. These specialists, also known just as trainers, may prepare newly recruited employees for their jobs. They often assist employees wi…