Work Context Index
Jobs with the least contact with other people that pay above the U.S. median
Jobs with the least contact with other people, 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 contact with other people 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 Contact With Others, lowest first, 25 are listed: 10 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 15 enter only under this restriction, led by Statisticians (3.38 of 5), Physicists (3.39 of 5), Geographers (3.4 of 5). The strongest overall are Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (2.68 of 5), Fallers (2.84 of 5), Environmental Economists (2.85 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $68,270 (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
- Contact With Others: "How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?"
- Scale
- 1 = No contact with others; 3 = Contact with others about half the time; 5 = Constant contact with others. 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). 5 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.
What this page does and does not claim
People search this as “jobs where you work alone”. This page answers that with the measurement behind it: Contact With Others, rated on a fixed 1-to-5 scale by people who do each job.
It does not say which jobs suit a personality, a temperament or a health condition. It reports a measured condition of the work and lets you decide whether that condition is the one you meant.
The 25 occupations
Ordered by mean rating for Contact With Others, lowest first. Scale: 1 = No contact with others; 5 = Constant contact with others.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers O*NET-SOC 27-3043.05 | 2.68 of 5 between "Occasional contact with others" and "Contact with others about half the time" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $76,910 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Fallers O*NET-SOC 45-4021.00 | 2.84 of 5 Contact with others about half the time | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $52,100 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -9.9% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Environmental Economists O*NET-SOC 19-3011.01 | 2.85 of 5 Contact with others about half the time | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $124,720 median (2025) Master's degree · +4.7% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators O*NET-SOC 27-1013.00 | 3.04 of 5 Contact with others about half the time | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $55,490 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -2.9% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-9012.00 | 3.21 of 5 Contact with others about half the time | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $51,610 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5.7% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Model Makers, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4061.00 | 3.31 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $63,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -17.3% 2025-35 |
| 7 | Business Intelligence Analysts O*NET-SOC 15-2051.01 | 3.32 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $120,230 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +34.6% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Animal Breeders O*NET-SOC 45-2021.00 | 3.33 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $51,130 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Tapers O*NET-SOC 47-2082.00 | 3.34 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $68,270 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -1.6% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Mathematicians O*NET-SOC 15-2021.00 | 3.35 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $126,710 median (2025) Master's degree · +0.6% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Statisticians O*NET-SOC 15-2041.00 | 3.38 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $105,650 median (2025) Master's degree · +11% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Physicists O*NET-SOC 19-2012.00 | 3.39 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $172,250 median (2025) Doctoral or professional degree · +7.2% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Geographers O*NET-SOC 19-3092.00 | 3.40 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $102,040 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -2.1% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Data Warehousing Specialists O*NET-SOC 15-1243.01 | 3.43 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $139,500 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +9.4% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers O*NET-SOC 51-9162.00 | 3.44 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $68,120 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +5.9% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Pourers and Casters, Metal O*NET-SOC 51-4052.00 | 3.44 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $51,810 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9061.00 | 3.44 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $52,720 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -15.5% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-4051.00 | 3.48 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $54,430 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -2.9% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4035.00 | 3.49 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $52,800 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -13.2% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Economists O*NET-SOC 19-3011.00 | 3.50 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $124,720 median (2025) Master's degree · +4.7% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators O*NET-SOC 47-2071.00 | 3.53 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $53,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.9% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Terrazzo Workers and Finishers O*NET-SOC 47-2053.00 | 3.55 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $76,170 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -13% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Automotive Body and Related Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-3021.00 | 3.56 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $54,890 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.7% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Search Marketing Strategists O*NET-SOC 13-1161.01 | 3.57 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $78,760 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Industrial Ecologists O*NET-SOC 19-2041.03 | 3.57 of 5 between "Contact with others about half the time" and "Contact with others most of the time" | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $82,220 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +6.1% 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
Contact With Others (O*NET element 4.C.1.a.4). The question put to incumbents: “How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?”
- 1
No contact with others
- 2
Occasional contact with others
- 3
Contact with others about half the time
- 4
Contact with others most of the time
- 5
Constant contact with others
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 contact with other people.
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.