Work Context Index
Jobs with the fewest conflict situations that pay above the U.S. median
Jobs with the fewest conflict situations, 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 fewest conflict situations 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 Conflict Situations, lowest first, 25 are listed: 13 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 12 enter only under this restriction, led by Mechanical Door Repairers (1.93 of 5), Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (1.95 of 5), Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators (1.95 of 5). The strongest overall are Animal Breeders (1.65 of 5), Software Developers (1.72 of 5), Tile and Stone Setters (1.72 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $63,340 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 13 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
- Conflict Situations: "How frequently are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?"
- Scale
- 1 = Never; 3 = Once a month or more but not every week; 5 = Every day. 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). 3 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 Conflict Situations, lowest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal Breeders O*NET-SOC 45-2021.00 | 1.65 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $51,130 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Software Developers O*NET-SOC 15-1252.00 | 1.72 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $135,980 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +10.2% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Tile and Stone Setters O*NET-SOC 47-2044.00 | 1.72 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $55,690 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +9.8% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Fallers O*NET-SOC 45-4021.00 | 1.77 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $52,100 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -9.9% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Social Science Research Assistants O*NET-SOC 19-4061.00 | 1.82 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $61,990 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +5% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles O*NET-SOC 47-2042.00 | 1.84 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $56,460 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +9% 2025-35 |
| 7 | Watch and Clock Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9064.00 | 1.86 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $67,230 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters O*NET-SOC 51-2061.00 | 1.88 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $62,620 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -6.1% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Mathematicians O*NET-SOC 15-2021.00 | 1.90 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $126,710 median (2025) Master's degree · +0.6% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians O*NET-SOC 49-3041.00 | 1.91 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $56,550 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +10.7% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Biological Technicians O*NET-SOC 19-4021.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $57,510 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7.4% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers O*NET-SOC 53-7072.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $61,770 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.3% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Model Makers, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4061.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $63,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -17.3% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Mechanical Door Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9011.00 | 1.93 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $55,720 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +6.4% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers O*NET-SOC 27-3043.05 | 1.95 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $76,910 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators O*NET-SOC 27-1013.00 | 1.95 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $55,490 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -2.9% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Medical Equipment Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9062.00 | 1.96 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $61,660 median (2025) Associate's degree · +12.6% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Signal and Track Switch Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9097.00 | 1.98 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $92,460 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +1.8% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians O*NET-SOC 15-1299.02 | 1.99 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $116,580 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +5.1% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Bioinformatics Technicians O*NET-SOC 15-2099.01 | 2.00 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $81,490 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7.1% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Electronics Engineers, Except Computer O*NET-SOC 17-2072.00 | 2.02 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $130,220 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +3.7% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists O*NET-SOC 19-2099.01 | 2.04 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $122,570 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +2.1% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Environmental Economists O*NET-SOC 19-3011.01 | 2.04 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $124,720 median (2025) Master's degree · +4.7% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Astronomers O*NET-SOC 19-2011.00 | 2.04 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $128,820 median (2025) Doctoral or professional degree · +7.8% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Dental Hygienists O*NET-SOC 29-1292.00 | 2.06 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $98,100 median (2025) Associate's degree · +8% 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
Conflict Situations (O*NET element 4.C.1.d.1). The question put to incumbents: “How frequently are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?”
- 1
Never
- 2
Once a year or more but not every month
- 3
Once a month or more but not every week
- 4
Once a week or more but not every day
- 5
Every day
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 fewest conflict situations.
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 selectionThis 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.