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Work Context Index

Jobs with the least competitive pressure that pay above the U.S. median

Jobs with the least competitive pressure, restricted to occupations with a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations. Every value is O*NET's own mean rating; the percentile is where that value sits among all 894 occupations, not among the restricted set.

Which jobs involve the least competition that pay above the U.S. median wage?

Only 594 of the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates have a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations. Ranked by Level of Competition, lowest first, 25 are listed: 8 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 17 enter only under this restriction, led by Proofreaders and Copy Markers (1.97 of 5), Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents (2.0 of 5), Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers (2.02 of 5). The strongest overall are Directors, Religious Activities and Education (1.3 of 5), Special Education Teachers, Middle School (1.75 of 5), Gem and Diamond Workers (1.78 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $62,620 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 14 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.

Occupations compared
594 of 894 O*NET occupations qualify (a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations); percentiles are still taken over all 894
What O*NET asks incumbents
Level of Competition: "To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?"
Scale
1 = Not at all competitive; 3 = Moderately competitive; 5 = Extremely competitive. Values are mean incumbent ratings.
Wage and outlook source
BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (Employment in thousands). 4 of the 25 occupations listed have a dedicated RoleSprint page.

Source and method

O*NET 30.3 Database (Work Context), U.S. Department of Labor, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-05. Ratings are reproduced from O*NET as published mean incumbent responses on each question's own 1-to-5 scale. Percentile ranks, composite averages and the resulting order are RoleSprint's computation and are described on the methodology page. Wage, education and outlook fields are reproduced from BLS for the matching SOC code and left blank where BLS publishes no line item.

The 25 occupations

Ordered by mean rating for Level of Competition, lowest first. Scale: 1 = Not at all competitive; 5 = Extremely competitive.

#OccupationO*NET valueRankBLS wage and education
1

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

O*NET-SOC 21-2021.00

1.30 of 5

between "Not at all competitive" and "Slightly competitive"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$52,100 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.3% 2025-35

2

Special Education Teachers, Middle School

O*NET-SOC 25-2057.00

1.75 of 5

between "Not at all competitive" and "Slightly competitive"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$66,810 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · -0.4% 2025-35

3

Gem and Diamond Workers

O*NET-SOC 51-9071.06

1.78 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$52,540 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -3.2% 2025-35

4

Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

O*NET-SOC 53-4013.00

1.80 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$60,600 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +0.8% 2025-35

5

Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers

O*NET-SOC 49-9061.00

1.83 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$52,720 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -15.5% 2025-35

6

Museum Technicians and Conservators

O*NET-SOC 25-4013.00

1.90 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$51,440 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.6% 2025-35

7

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

O*NET-SOC 25-2058.00

1.91 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$74,260 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · -0.2% 2025-35

8

Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

O*NET-SOC 43-6012.00

1.92 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$55,570 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -5.2% 2025-35

9

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

O*NET-SOC 43-9081.00

1.97 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$51,120 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · -0.9% 2025-35

10

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents

O*NET-SOC 13-2081.00

2.00 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$62,370 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · -1% 2025-35

11

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

O*NET-SOC 53-4022.00

2.02 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 96%

of 894 occupations

$68,840 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +0.8% 2025-35

12

Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters

O*NET-SOC 51-2061.00

2.06 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 96%

of 894 occupations

$62,620 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -6.1% 2025-35

13

Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists

O*NET-SOC 29-1122.01

2.09 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 95%

of 894 occupations

$100,330 median (2025)

Master's degree · +14.8% 2025-35

14

Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door

O*NET-SOC 49-9012.00

2.10 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 95%

of 894 occupations

$74,340 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +4.3% 2025-35

15

Special Education Teachers, Preschool

O*NET-SOC 25-2051.00

2.11 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 95%

of 894 occupations

$64,830 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +2.4% 2025-35

16

Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers

O*NET-SOC 51-6092.00

2.13 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 95%

of 894 occupations

$62,750 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -15% 2025-35

17

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

O*NET-SOC 53-3052.00

2.16 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 94%

of 894 occupations

$59,050 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +4.1% 2025-35

18

Family Medicine Physicians

O*NET-SOC 29-1215.00

2.16 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 94%

of 894 occupations

$244,180 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +3.3% 2025-35

19

School Psychologists

O*NET-SOC 19-3034.00

2.16 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 94%

of 894 occupations

$95,990 median (2025)

Master's degree · +0.8% 2025-35

20

Crane and Tower Operators

O*NET-SOC 53-7021.00

2.16 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 94%

of 894 occupations

$68,080 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +3.8% 2025-35

21

Postal Service Clerks

O*NET-SOC 43-5051.00

2.17 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 94%

of 894 occupations

$62,130 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · -0.3% 2025-35

22

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

O*NET-SOC 25-2031.00

2.20 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$72,040 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · -0.2% 2025-35

23

Police Identification and Records Officers

O*NET-SOC 33-3021.02

2.20 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$93,790 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +0.2% 2025-35

24

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

O*NET-SOC 51-9012.00

2.20 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$51,610 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -5.7% 2025-35

25

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

O*NET-SOC 47-2042.00

2.20 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$56,460 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +9% 2025-35

Values are mean ratings from O*NET 30.3; most come from surveys of people in the occupation, some from occupational experts, and some for newer occupations from O*NET analysts. Wage, education and outlook are from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code and are blank where BLS publishes no line item.

How this was measured

Level of Competition (O*NET element 4.C.3.c.1). The question put to incumbents: “To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?”

  1. 1

    Not at all competitive

  2. 2

    Slightly competitive

  3. 3

    Moderately competitive

  4. 4

    Highly competitive

  5. 5

    Extremely competitive

894 of 894 occupations have a published, unsuppressed value for this element. The percentile beside each occupation is its position among them.

The full method, including how ties are broken and what the data cannot tell you, is on the methodology page.

The restriction applied

Only occupations with a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations are listed: 594 of 894 qualify.

The unrestricted ranking is at Jobs with the least competitive pressure.

Combine this with other conditions

The explorer ranks all occupations on any set of measures you choose, with the same values and the same arithmetic as this page.

Open the explorer with this selection

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 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. RoleSprint has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Wage, education and outlook figures are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What to do next

These rankings describe occupations in general. The next question is whether a specific opening in one of them actually matches what you can show, and that is answered by comparing the posting with your resume.

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