Work Context Index
Jobs with the most time outdoors that are growing faster than average
Jobs with the most time outdoors, 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 most outdoor work that BLS projects to grow faster than average?
Only 404 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 Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions, highest first, 25 are listed: 9 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 16 enter only under this restriction, led by Tree Trimmers and Pruners (4.91 of 5), Rock Splitters, Quarry (4.77 of 5), Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (4.76 of 5). The strongest overall are Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (5.0 of 5), Driver/Sales Workers (5.0 of 5), Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers (5.0 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $53,140 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 25 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.
- Occupations compared
- 404 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
- Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions: "How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?"
- 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). 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 “outdoor jobs”. This page answers that with the measurement behind it: Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions, 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 Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions, highest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators O*NET-SOC 47-2073.00 | 5.00 of 5 Every day | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $59,850 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.6% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Driver/Sales Workers O*NET-SOC 53-3031.00 | 5.00 of 5 Every day | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $38,770 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +7.9% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9051.00 | 5.00 of 5 Every day | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $95,320 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +10.3% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers O*NET-SOC 37-3011.00 | 4.98 of 5 Every day | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $39,150 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +4.7% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Roofers O*NET-SOC 47-2181.00 | 4.98 of 5 Every day | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $55,440 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.3% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Roustabouts, Oil and Gas O*NET-SOC 47-5071.00 | 4.98 of 5 Every day | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $46,960 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +3.6% 2025-35 |
| 7 | First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers O*NET-SOC 37-1012.00 | 4.95 of 5 Every day | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $58,430 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners O*NET-SOC 47-4071.00 | 4.95 of 5 Every day | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $49,880 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +7.8% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Animal Control Workers O*NET-SOC 33-9011.00 | 4.92 of 5 Every day | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $45,660 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Tree Trimmers and Pruners O*NET-SOC 37-3013.00 | 4.91 of 5 Every day | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $50,960 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.2% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Rock Splitters, Quarry O*NET-SOC 47-5051.00 | 4.77 of 5 Every day | Higher than 96% of 894 occupations | $48,740 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.8% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers O*NET-SOC 53-3032.00 | 4.76 of 5 Every day | Higher than 95% of 894 occupations | $58,640 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +3.8% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Fence Erectors O*NET-SOC 47-4031.00 | 4.76 of 5 Every day | Higher than 95% of 894 occupations | $47,980 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.6% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation O*NET-SOC 37-3012.00 | 4.76 of 5 Every day | Higher than 95% of 894 occupations | $46,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.9% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-3022.00 | 4.75 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 95% of 894 occupations | $47,630 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +5.7% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Wind Turbine Service Technicians O*NET-SOC 49-9081.00 | 4.75 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 95% of 894 occupations | $64,120 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +29.5% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Solar Photovoltaic Installers O*NET-SOC 47-2231.00 | 4.69 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 94% of 894 occupations | $53,140 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +36.5% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers O*NET-SOC 53-7072.00 | 4.69 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 94% of 894 occupations | $61,770 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.3% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians O*NET-SOC 49-3051.00 | 4.68 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 94% of 894 occupations | $57,550 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.9% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Pest Control Workers O*NET-SOC 37-2021.00 | 4.67 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 94% of 894 occupations | $45,250 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +5.5% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Construction Laborers O*NET-SOC 47-2061.00 | 4.63 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $47,120 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +7.3% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists O*NET-SOC 33-2022.00 | 4.63 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $56,870 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +13.1% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door O*NET-SOC 49-9012.00 | 4.62 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $74,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.3% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Commercial Divers O*NET-SOC 49-9092.00 | 4.61 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $72,990 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +4.8% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Riggers O*NET-SOC 49-9096.00 | 4.58 of 5 between "Once a week or more but not every day" and "Every day" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $62,640 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.9% 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
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions (O*NET element 4.C.2.a.1.c). The question put to incumbents: “How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?”
- 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
893 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: 404 of 894 qualify.
The unrestricted ranking is at Jobs with the most time outdoors.
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.