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Work Context Index

Jobs with the least competitive pressure that are growing faster than average

Jobs with the least competitive pressure, restricted to occupations with projected employment growth above 3.5% over 2025-35, the BLS projection for all 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 BLS projects to grow faster than average?

Only 405 of the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates have projected employment growth above 3.5% over 2025-35, the BLS projection for all occupations. Ranked by Level of Competition, lowest first, 25 are listed: 4 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 21 enter only under this restriction, led by Medical Equipment Preparers (1.96 of 5), Medical Assistants (2.07 of 5), Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators (2.08 of 5). The strongest overall are Amusement and Recreation Attendants (1.3 of 5), Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants (1.56 of 5), Baristas (1.88 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $49,630 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 19 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.

Occupations compared
405 of 894 O*NET occupations qualify (projected employment growth above 3.5% over 2025-35, the BLS projection for all 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

Amusement and Recreation Attendants

O*NET-SOC 39-3091.00

1.30 of 5

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

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$32,150 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +3.7% 2025-35

2

Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants

O*NET-SOC 39-3093.00

1.56 of 5

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

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$36,300 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +6.4% 2025-35

3

Baristas

O*NET-SOC 35-3023.01

1.88 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$31,200 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35

4

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

5

Medical Equipment Preparers

O*NET-SOC 31-9093.00

1.96 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$47,700 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +10.8% 2025-35

6

Medical Assistants

O*NET-SOC 31-9092.00

2.07 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 96%

of 894 occupations

$45,690 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +12.9% 2025-35

7

Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators

O*NET-SOC 51-2051.00

2.08 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 96%

of 894 occupations

$46,880 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +4.6% 2025-35

8

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

9

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

10

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

11

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

12

Animal Caretakers

O*NET-SOC 39-2021.00

2.20 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$35,360 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +12.1% 2025-35

13

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

14

Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers

O*NET-SOC 13-1041.03

2.21 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$80,730 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.8% 2025-35

15

Social and Community Service Managers

O*NET-SOC 11-9151.00

2.21 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$80,390 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +7.2% 2025-35

16

Passenger Attendants

O*NET-SOC 53-6061.00

2.21 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$37,720 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +6% 2025-35

17

Occupational Therapy Aides

O*NET-SOC 31-2012.00

2.21 of 5

Slightly competitive

Lower than 93%

of 894 occupations

$39,160 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +3.6% 2025-35

18

Food Service Managers

O*NET-SOC 11-9051.00

2.26 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 91%

of 894 occupations

$69,390 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +5.8% 2025-35

19

Agricultural Technicians

O*NET-SOC 19-4012.00

2.26 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 91%

of 894 occupations

$49,630 median (2025)

Associate's degree · +5.4% 2025-35

20

Animal Control Workers

O*NET-SOC 33-9011.00

2.27 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 91%

of 894 occupations

$45,660 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +4% 2025-35

21

Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians

O*NET-SOC 49-3092.00

2.28 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 90%

of 894 occupations

$52,000 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +9.7% 2025-35

22

Environmental Compliance Inspectors

O*NET-SOC 13-1041.01

2.30 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 90%

of 894 occupations

$80,730 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.8% 2025-35

23

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

O*NET-SOC 21-1023.00

2.30 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 90%

of 894 occupations

$60,280 median (2025)

Master's degree · +10.3% 2025-35

24

Physical Therapist Aides

O*NET-SOC 31-2022.00

2.30 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 90%

of 894 occupations

$35,240 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +4% 2025-35

25

Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs

O*NET-SOC 53-3053.00

2.31 of 5

between "Slightly competitive" and "Moderately competitive"

Lower than 89%

of 894 occupations

$37,290 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +7.1% 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 projected employment growth above 3.5% over 2025-35, the BLS projection for all occupations are listed: 405 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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