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Work Context Index

Jobs with the least time pressure

O*NET asks people in every occupation "How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?" and publishes the mean answer on a 1-to-5 scale. This page lists the 25 occupations whose mean sits lowest, with the BLS wage, education and outlook for each.

Which jobs have the fewest strict deadlines?

People search this as "jobs with no deadlines". O*NET does not measure whether a job has no deadlines at all, so this ranking is built from what it does measure: Time Pressure, 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, the 25 lowest for Time Pressure average between 1.67 and 2.79 on O*NET's 1-to-5 scale, where 1 means "Never" and 5 means "Every day"; the median across all occupations is 3.87. Lowest are Models (1.67), Bartenders (1.75), Amusement and Recreation Attendants (1.98). Their median BLS wage is $37,545 (2025, 24 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 22 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
What O*NET asks incumbents
Time Pressure: "How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?"
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). 8 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 with no deadlines”. O*NET does not measure whether a job has no deadlines at all, so this ranking is built from what it does measure: Time Pressure, 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 rating for Time Pressure, lowest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.

#OccupationO*NET valueRankBLS wage and education
1

Models

O*NET-SOC 41-9012.00

1.67 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$48,470 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · -2.1% 2025-35

2

Bartenders

O*NET-SOC 35-3011.00

1.75 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$34,340 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +5% 2025-35

3

Amusement and Recreation Attendants

O*NET-SOC 39-3091.00

1.98 of 5

Once a year or more but not every month

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$32,150 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +3.7% 2025-35

4

Baristas

O*NET-SOC 35-3023.01

2.14 of 5

Once a year or more but not every month

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$31,200 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35

5

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

O*NET-SOC 35-9031.00

2.18 of 5

Once a year or more but not every month

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$31,200 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +3.4% 2025-35

6

Crossing Guards and Flaggers

O*NET-SOC 33-9091.00

2.21 of 5

Once a year or more but not every month

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$38,100 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +3.5% 2025-35

7

Manicurists and Pedicurists

O*NET-SOC 39-5092.00

2.23 of 5

Once a year or more but not every month

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$35,760 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +9.2% 2025-35

8

Massage Therapists

O*NET-SOC 31-9011.00

2.28 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$58,450 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +15.3% 2025-35

9

Gambling Dealers

O*NET-SOC 39-3011.00

2.32 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$34,320 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +3.4% 2025-35

10

Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

O*NET-SOC 45-2093.00

2.37 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$36,670 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · -3.2% 2025-35

11

Baggage Porters and Bellhops

O*NET-SOC 39-6011.00

2.38 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$37,080 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -3% 2025-35

12

Barbers

O*NET-SOC 39-5011.00

2.39 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$38,210 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +3.3% 2025-35

13

Fast Food and Counter Workers

O*NET-SOC 35-3023.00

2.40 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$31,200 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35

14

Animal Breeders

O*NET-SOC 45-2021.00

2.44 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$51,130 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +3% 2025-35

15

Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education

O*NET-SOC 25-9042.00

2.45 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

No BLS line item for this occupation

16

Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers

O*NET-SOC 39-3031.00

2.46 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$32,910 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +0.9% 2025-35

17

Skincare Specialists

O*NET-SOC 39-5094.00

2.59 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$45,330 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +8.8% 2025-35

18

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

O*NET-SOC 21-2021.00

2.61 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$52,100 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.3% 2025-35

19

Rock Splitters, Quarry

O*NET-SOC 47-5051.00

2.61 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$48,740 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35

20

Craft Artists

O*NET-SOC 27-1012.00

2.65 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$46,080 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +2% 2025-35

21

Receptionists and Information Clerks

O*NET-SOC 43-4171.00

2.71 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$38,010 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · -1.7% 2025-35

22

Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners

O*NET-SOC 39-3012.00

2.71 of 5

between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$34,980 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +1.8% 2025-35

23

Self-Enrichment Teachers

O*NET-SOC 25-3021.00

2.76 of 5

Once a month or more but not every week

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$46,800 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +3.5% 2025-35

24

Environmental Economists

O*NET-SOC 19-3011.01

2.77 of 5

Once a month or more but not every week

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$124,720 median (2025)

Master's degree · +4.7% 2025-35

25

Waiters and Waitresses

O*NET-SOC 35-3031.00

2.79 of 5

Once a month or more but not every week

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$35,230 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +2% 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

Time Pressure (O*NET element 4.C.3.d.1). The question put to incumbents: “How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?”

  1. 1

    Never

  2. 2

    Once a year or more but not every month

  3. 3

    Once a month or more but not every week

  4. 4

    Once a week or more but not every day

  5. 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.

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.

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