Career Library
Plain-language guides to skilled occupations: what the work is actually like day to day, how people get in, what training and licensing really involve, and where to find the official information for yourself.
Written for students, career changers, veterans, and anyone curious about skilled work. No prior knowledge of a trade is assumed.
Construction & Building
Building, wiring, plumbing, and finishing the places people live and work.
2 occupationsBrowseMechanical & Industrial
Fixing, maintaining, and making the machines and systems that keep buildings and factories running.
3 occupationsBrowseAutomotive & Transportation
Diagnosing, repairing, and keeping vehicles and equipment moving.
2 occupationsBrowseInfrastructure & Utilities
Delivering the power, water, and public systems that everyone depends on.
2 occupationsBrowseHealthcare & Personal Services
Caring for people directly, in clinics, care settings, and their own homes.
2 occupationsBrowseTechnology & Technical Services
Installing, supporting, and testing the equipment and systems that keep work running.
2 occupationsBrowse
Search by the words you actually use, in English or Spanish. Matching is whole-word, so a search for one trade will not drag in unrelated ones.
Career family
13 occupations
Electrician
Electricians install, maintain, and repair the electrical power, lighting, communications, and control systems inside homes, businesses, and factories.
- National median pay
- $63,190
- Projected employment change
- +9%
Plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters install and repair the piping systems that carry water, gas, waste, steam, and other fluids through homes, businesses, and industrial plants.
- National median pay
- $63,800
- Projected employment change
- +7%
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration technician
HVACR technicians install, maintain, and repair the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems that control temperature and air quality inside buildings.
- National median pay
- $61,010
- Projected employment change
- +11%
Welder, cutter, solderer, and brazer
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers join, cut, and repair metal using heat from an electric arc, a gas flame, or a plasma stream.
- National median pay
- $53,750
- Projected employment change
- +2%
Industrial machinery mechanic, maintenance worker, and millwright
These workers keep factories running. They maintain and repair production machinery, and millwrights install, move, and align the machines in the first place.
- National median pay
- $64,100
- Projected employment change
- +14%
Automotive service technician and mechanic
Automotive service technicians and mechanics inspect, maintain, and repair cars and light trucks, working on mechanical systems, electronics, and increasingly on electric drivetrains.
- National median pay
- $50,620
- Projected employment change
- +5%
Diesel service technician and mechanic
Diesel service technicians and mechanics inspect, repair, and overhaul trucks, buses, and any other vehicle or machine powered by a diesel engine.
- National median pay
- $61,770
- Projected employment change
- +4%
Electrical power-line installer and repairer
Electrical power-line installers and repairers build, maintain, and repair the cables, poles, and towers that carry electricity from where it is generated to the people who use it.
- National median pay
- $95,320
- Projected employment change
- +10%
Water and wastewater treatment plant operator
Water and wastewater treatment plant operators run the machinery and processes that make drinking water safe and treat sewage before it returns to the environment.
- National median pay
- $60,020
- Projected employment change
- −6%
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse
Licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses provide basic medical care to patients who are ill, injured, recovering, or living with a disability. The two titles describe the same work; which one is used depends on the state.
- National median pay
- $64,400
- Projected employment change
- +3%
Medical assistant
Medical assistants handle both the clinical and the administrative tasks that keep a medical practice running, from taking vital signs to scheduling appointments and managing records.
- National median pay
- $45,690
- Projected employment change
- +13%
Computer support specialist
Computer support specialists keep an organisation's computers and networks working, and help the people using them when something goes wrong.
- National median pay
- $62,890
- Projected employment change
- −3%
Electrical and electronic engineering technologist and technician
Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians work alongside engineers to build, test, calibrate, and repair the electrical and electronic equipment that other people design.
- National median pay
- $78,190
- Projected employment change
- +2%
A growing collection. Every guide here is fully written and sourced. Where we have not yet researched an occupation, we say so rather than publishing a thin page.
This is educational career guidance. It is not a job board, it is not a school directory, and nothing here is an offer of employment or training. We do not sell placement, and no training provider pays to appear on this page.
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