Work Context Index

Jobs with the least contact with people of any kind

This list combines 4 O*NET Work Context measures. Each occupation's mean rating on each measure becomes a percentile rank among all 894 occupations, flipped where lower is preferred, and the percentiles are averaged. The 25 with the highest average are listed, with the components shown so the average can be checked.

Which jobs have the least contact with people, across every way O*NET measures it?

People search this as "jobs for introverts". O*NET does not measure introversion, or any personality trait, so this ranking is built from what it does measure: Contact With Others, Deal With External Customers or the Public in General, Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams, Telephone Conversations, rated by people who do each job. Comparing the work is not the same as predicting how a job will feel to you. Across the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates, each occupation is placed on 4 O*NET measures at once, Contact with others (lower); Customers and the public (lower); Face-to-face discussions (lower); Phone conversations (lower), each converted to a percentile among all occupations in the preferred direction and averaged. The 25 listed here all sit at the 91st percentile or better on that average. Strongest are Cutters and Trimmers, Hand (99th percentile), Sewing Machine Operators (97th percentile), Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (97th percentile). Their median BLS wage is $46,250 (2025, 24 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 23 of the 24 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.

Occupations compared: 894 O*NET 30.3 occupations with published Work Context ratings
Measures combined: Contact With Others (lower is preferred); Deal With External Customers or the Public in General (lower is preferred); Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams (lower is preferred); Telephone Conversations (lower is preferred)
How they are combined: Each measure becomes a percentile rank among all occupations, flipped where lower is preferred, then the percentiles are averaged with equal weight. The figure is a rank average, not a suitability score.
Wage and outlook source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (Employment in thousands). 1 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 for introverts”. O*NET does not measure introversion, or any personality trait, so this ranking is built from what it does measure: 4 Work Context questions — Contact With Others, Deal With External Customers or the Public in General, Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams, Telephone Conversations — each rated on a fixed 1-to-5 scale by people who do each job. That compares the work; it does not predict how a job will feel to you.

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 percentile across contact with others, customers and the public, face-to-face discussions, phone conversations.

#	Occupation	Component values	Rank	BLS wage and education
1	Cutters and Trimmers, Hand O*NET-SOC 51-9031.00	Contact with others 3.39 · lower than 97% Customers and the public 1.16 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 2.89 · lower than 99% Phone conversations 1.05 · lower than 99%	99th percentile mean of 4 measures	$38,020 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -18.9% 2025-35
2	Sewing Machine Operators O*NET-SOC 51-6031.00	Contact with others 3.55 · lower than 94% Customers and the public 1.48 · lower than 98% Face-to-face discussions 3.52 · lower than 99% Phone conversations 1.64 · lower than 99%	97th percentile mean of 4 measures	$36,670 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -15.1% 2025-35
3	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4031.00	Contact with others 3.12 · lower than 99% Customers and the public 1.71 · lower than 97% Face-to-face discussions 4.04 · lower than 92% Phone conversations 1.18 · lower than 99%	97th percentile mean of 4 measures	$46,330 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -10.5% 2025-35
4	Furniture Finishers O*NET-SOC 51-7021.00	Contact with others 3.30 · lower than 98% Customers and the public 1.45 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 3.88 · lower than 94% Phone conversations 1.96 · lower than 96%	97th percentile mean of 4 measures	$44,540 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -3.5% 2025-35
5	Rock Splitters, Quarry O*NET-SOC 47-5051.00	Contact with others 3.18 · lower than 99% Customers and the public 2.17 · lower than 90% Face-to-face discussions 3.48 · lower than 99% Phone conversations 1.83 · lower than 97%	96th percentile mean of 4 measures	$48,740 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35
6	Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-6064.00	Contact with others 3.67 · lower than 91% Customers and the public 1.65 · lower than 98% Face-to-face discussions 3.80 · lower than 96% Phone conversations 1.49 · lower than 99%	96th percentile mean of 4 measures	$38,670 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -10.3% 2025-35
7	Fallers O*NET-SOC 45-4021.00	Contact with others 2.84 · lower than 99% Customers and the public 1.84 · lower than 96% Face-to-face discussions 3.79 · lower than 96% Phone conversations 2.72 · lower than 89%	95th percentile mean of 4 measures	$52,100 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -9.9% 2025-35
8	Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4021.00	Contact with others 3.45 · lower than 95% Customers and the public 1.32 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 3.98 · lower than 93% Phone conversations 2.50 · lower than 91%	95th percentile mean of 4 measures	$47,720 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +0.7% 2025-35
9	Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers O*NET-SOC 27-3043.05	Contact with others 2.68 · lower than 99% Customers and the public 1.91 · lower than 95% Face-to-face discussions 2.86 · lower than 99% Phone conversations 3.29 · lower than 83%	94th percentile mean of 4 measures	$76,910 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -0.3% 2025-35
10	Conveyor Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 53-7011.00	Contact with others 3.43 · lower than 96% Customers and the public 1.76 · lower than 96% Face-to-face discussions 3.48 · lower than 99% Phone conversations 3.03 · lower than 86%	94th percentile mean of 4 measures	$42,420 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -2.6% 2025-35
11	Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-4051.00	Contact with others 3.48 · lower than 95% Customers and the public 1.69 · lower than 97% Face-to-face discussions 4.02 · lower than 93% Phone conversations 2.47 · lower than 92%	94th percentile mean of 4 measures	$54,430 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -2.9% 2025-35
12	Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers O*NET-SOC 37-3011.00 Am I qualified to be a landscaper? Career Escape Map for landscapers Landscaper job description for a resume	Contact with others 3.19 · lower than 99% Customers and the public 2.26 · lower than 88% Face-to-face discussions 3.98 · lower than 93% Phone conversations 2.41 · lower than 93%	93rd percentile mean of 4 measures	$39,150 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +4.7% 2025-35
13	Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4035.00	Contact with others 3.49 · lower than 95% Customers and the public 1.88 · lower than 95% Face-to-face discussions 4.26 · lower than 85% Phone conversations 1.77 · lower than 98%	93rd percentile mean of 4 measures	$52,800 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -13.2% 2025-35
14	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers O*NET-SOC 51-6011.00	Contact with others 3.23 · lower than 99% Customers and the public 2.49 · lower than 82% Face-to-face discussions 3.85 · lower than 95% Phone conversations 2.03 · lower than 96%	93rd percentile mean of 4 measures	$34,890 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +4.3% 2025-35
15	Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-9192.00	Contact with others 3.69 · lower than 90% Customers and the public 1.25 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 4.25 · lower than 85% Phone conversations 1.80 · lower than 98%	93rd percentile mean of 4 measures	$43,530 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.4% 2025-35
16	Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-6063.00	Contact with others 3.75 · lower than 88% Customers and the public 1.44 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 4.25 · lower than 85% Phone conversations 1.77 · lower than 98%	92nd percentile mean of 4 measures	$39,530 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -13.7% 2025-35
17	Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers O*NET-SOC 51-2022.00	Contact with others 3.39 · lower than 97% Customers and the public 2.28 · lower than 88% Face-to-face discussions 3.98 · lower than 93% Phone conversations 2.50 · lower than 91%	92nd percentile mean of 4 measures	No BLS line item for this occupation
18	Machine Feeders and Offbearers O*NET-SOC 53-7063.00	Contact with others 3.87 · lower than 83% Customers and the public 1.87 · lower than 95% Face-to-face discussions 4.06 · lower than 92% Phone conversations 1.80 · lower than 98%	92nd percentile mean of 4 measures	$41,220 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -13.1% 2025-35
19	Pourers and Casters, Metal O*NET-SOC 51-4052.00	Contact with others 3.44 · lower than 96% Customers and the public 1.11 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 4.41 · lower than 74% Phone conversations 1.86 · lower than 97%	92nd percentile mean of 4 measures	$51,810 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5% 2025-35
20	Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4033.00	Contact with others 3.47 · lower than 95% Customers and the public 2.47 · lower than 83% Face-to-face discussions 3.87 · lower than 95% Phone conversations 2.32 · lower than 93%	92nd percentile mean of 4 measures	$46,550 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -10.8% 2025-35
21	Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators O*NET-SOC 43-5053.00	Contact with others 3.80 · lower than 85% Customers and the public 1.41 · lower than 99% Face-to-face discussions 4.25 · lower than 85% Phone conversations 1.93 · lower than 96%	91st percentile mean of 4 measures	$58,470 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -5.3% 2025-35
22	Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials O*NET-SOC 51-6021.00	Contact with others 3.43 · lower than 96% Customers and the public 2.58 · lower than 81% Face-to-face discussions 4.08 · lower than 92% Phone conversations 1.88 · lower than 97%	91st percentile mean of 4 measures	$35,060 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -15.7% 2025-35
23	Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers O*NET-SOC 51-9195.04	Contact with others 3.27 · lower than 98% Customers and the public 2.38 · lower than 86% Face-to-face discussions 4.22 · lower than 86% Phone conversations 2.18 · lower than 94%	91st percentile mean of 4 measures	$46,170 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +5.8% 2025-35
24	Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-9051.00	Contact with others 3.65 · lower than 92% Customers and the public 1.46 · lower than 98% Face-to-face discussions 4.38 · lower than 76% Phone conversations 1.92 · lower than 97%	91st percentile mean of 4 measures	$48,040 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +2.6% 2025-35
25	Upholsterers O*NET-SOC 51-6093.00	Contact with others 3.65 · lower than 92% Customers and the public 2.59 · lower than 80% Face-to-face discussions 3.79 · lower than 96% Phone conversations 2.12 · lower than 95%	91st percentile mean of 4 measures	$46,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -2.3% 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 (lower is preferred)
“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; 5 = Constant contact with others.
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General (lower is preferred)
“How important is it to deal with external customers (as in retail sales) or the public in general (as in police work) in this job?” Scale 1 = Not important at all; 5 = Extremely important.
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams (lower is preferred)
“How frequently does your job require face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams?” Scale 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.
Telephone Conversations (lower is preferred)
“How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?” Scale 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.

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

Narrow the list with BLS data

Each variant keeps the same measure and restricts the occupations by a published BLS threshold. A variant exists only where the restriction actually changes the list rather than the heading; the combinations that left the answer much as it was were not published.

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.