Work Context Index
Jobs with the most routine, repetitive tasks
O*NET asks people in every occupation "How important are continuous, repetitive, physical activities (like key entry) or mental activities (like checking entries in a ledger) to performing this job?" and publishes the mean answer on a 1-to-5 scale. This page lists the 25 occupations whose mean sits highest, with the BLS wage, education and outlook for each.
Which jobs rate repeating the same tasks as most important?
Across the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates, the 25 highest for Importance of Repeating Same Tasks average between 4.5 and 4.92 on O*NET's 1-to-5 scale, where 1 means "Not important at all" and 5 means "Extremely important"; the median across all occupations is 3.25. Highest are Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks (4.92), Public Safety Telecommunicators (4.87), Gambling Cage Workers (4.84). Their median BLS wage is $50,625 (2025, 24 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 21 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
- Importance of Repeating Same Tasks: "How important are continuous, repetitive, physical activities (like key entry) or mental activities (like checking entries in a ledger) to performing this job?"
- Scale
- 1 = Not important at all; 3 = Important; 5 = Extremely important. 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). 9 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 Importance of Repeating Same Tasks, highest first. Scale: 1 = Not important at all; 5 = Extremely important.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-4181.00 | 4.92 of 5 Extremely important | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $44,390 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +2.5% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Public Safety Telecommunicators O*NET-SOC 43-5031.00 | 4.87 of 5 Extremely important | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $53,040 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.7% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Gambling Cage Workers O*NET-SOC 43-3041.00 | 4.84 of 5 Extremely important | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $37,580 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -3.1% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Data Entry Keyers O*NET-SOC 43-9021.00 | 4.81 of 5 Extremely important | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $41,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -25.5% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Tellers O*NET-SOC 43-3071.00 | 4.72 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $43,030 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -13.2% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Cytogenetic Technologists O*NET-SOC 29-2011.01 | 4.71 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | No BLS line item for this occupation |
| 7 | Radiation Therapists O*NET-SOC 29-1124.00 | 4.68 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $105,310 median (2025) Associate's degree · +2.8% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Air Traffic Controllers O*NET-SOC 53-2021.00 | 4.67 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $148,080 median (2025) Associate's degree · +1.7% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Proofreaders and Copy Markers O*NET-SOC 43-9081.00 | 4.67 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $51,120 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -0.9% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Diagnostic Medical Sonographers O*NET-SOC 29-2032.00 | 4.66 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $96,590 median (2025) Associate's degree · +13.9% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-3031.00 | 4.65 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $50,670 median (2025) Some college, no degree · -5.6% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan O*NET-SOC 43-4111.00 | 4.63 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $45,920 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -10.4% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Word Processors and Typists O*NET-SOC 43-9022.00 | 4.62 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $49,280 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -34.4% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants O*NET-SOC 43-6013.00 | 4.60 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $45,930 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.8% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Budget Analysts O*NET-SOC 13-2031.00 | 4.60 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $91,640 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +1.9% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Correspondence Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-4021.00 | 4.60 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $46,800 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5.6% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-3051.00 | 4.57 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $58,260 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -15.9% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Procurement Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-3061.00 | 4.57 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $50,580 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -8.1% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Patient Representatives O*NET-SOC 29-2099.08 | 4.53 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $50,290 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +5.9% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators O*NET-SOC 33-9031.00 | 4.53 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $43,370 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -1.8% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Technical Writers O*NET-SOC 27-3042.00 | 4.52 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $90,390 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +0.8% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators O*NET-SOC 13-1031.00 | 4.51 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $78,000 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5.5% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Brokerage Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-4011.00 | 4.51 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $65,750 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -7.6% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Gem and Diamond Workers O*NET-SOC 51-9071.06 | 4.51 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $52,540 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -3.2% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance O*NET-SOC 43-5032.00 | 4.50 of 5 between "Very important" and "Extremely important" | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $50,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.7% 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
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks (O*NET element 4.C.3.b.7). The question put to incumbents: “How important are continuous, repetitive, physical activities (like key entry) or mental activities (like checking entries in a ledger) to performing this job?”
- 1
Not important at all
- 2
Fairly important
- 3
Important
- 4
Very important
- 5
Extremely important
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 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.