Work Context Index
Jobs where you sit for most of the day
O*NET asks people in every occupation "How much does this job require sitting?" 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 involve the most sitting?
Across the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates, the 25 highest for Spend Time Sitting average between 4.83 and 4.99 on O*NET's 1-to-5 scale, where 1 means "Never" and 5 means "Continually or almost continually"; the median across all occupations is 3.17. Highest are Public Safety Telecommunicators (4.99), Software Developers (4.95), Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (4.94). Their median BLS wage is $81,370 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 8 of the 25 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
- Spend Time Sitting: "How much does this job require sitting?"
- Scale
- 1 = Never; 3 = About half the time; 5 = Continually or almost continually. 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). 6 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 “sit down jobs”. This page answers that with the measurement behind it: Spend Time Sitting, 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 Spend Time Sitting, highest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Continually or almost continually.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Public Safety Telecommunicators O*NET-SOC 43-5031.00 | 4.99 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $53,040 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.7% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Software Developers O*NET-SOC 15-1252.00 | 4.95 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $135,980 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +10.2% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers O*NET-SOC 23-1021.00 | 4.94 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $117,860 median (2025) Doctoral or professional degree · 0% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Insurance Underwriters O*NET-SOC 13-2053.00 | 4.93 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $81,370 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -3.8% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Actuaries O*NET-SOC 15-2011.00 | 4.93 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $130,000 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +9.2% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Regulatory Affairs Specialists O*NET-SOC 13-1041.07 | 4.90 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $80,730 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +3.8% 2025-35 |
| 7 | Customs Brokers O*NET-SOC 13-1041.08 | 4.90 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $80,730 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +3.8% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Word Processors and Typists O*NET-SOC 43-9022.00 | 4.90 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $49,280 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -34.4% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Compensation and Benefits Managers O*NET-SOC 11-3111.00 | 4.90 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $149,230 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +1.1% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Information Security Engineers O*NET-SOC 15-1299.05 | 4.89 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $116,580 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +5.1% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-9041.00 | 4.89 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $49,230 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -1.9% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Data Entry Keyers O*NET-SOC 43-9021.00 | 4.89 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $41,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -25.5% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Fundraising Managers O*NET-SOC 11-2033.00 | 4.88 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $125,470 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +5.4% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Search Marketing Strategists O*NET-SOC 13-1161.01 | 4.87 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $78,760 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Tutors O*NET-SOC 25-3041.00 | 4.86 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $43,350 median (2025) Some college, no degree · -0.2% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Data Warehousing Specialists O*NET-SOC 15-1243.01 | 4.86 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $139,500 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +9.4% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Travel Agents O*NET-SOC 41-3041.00 | 4.86 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $50,160 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +0.2% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Clinical Data Managers O*NET-SOC 15-2051.02 | 4.85 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $120,230 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +34.6% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity O*NET-SOC 53-3052.00 | 4.85 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $59,050 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.1% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Credit Analysts O*NET-SOC 13-2041.00 | 4.85 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $83,510 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -4.3% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Telemarketers O*NET-SOC 41-9041.00 | 4.85 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $35,450 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -21.4% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Proofreaders and Copy Markers O*NET-SOC 43-9081.00 | 4.85 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $51,120 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -0.9% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Video Game Designers O*NET-SOC 15-1255.01 | 4.84 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $104,000 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +6% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Computer Programmers O*NET-SOC 15-1251.00 | 4.84 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $100,390 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · -7.3% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Cartographers and Photogrammetrists O*NET-SOC 17-1021.00 | 4.83 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $81,390 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7.4% 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
Spend Time Sitting (O*NET element 4.C.2.d.1.a). The question put to incumbents: “How much does this job require sitting?”
- 1
Never
- 2
Less than half the time
- 3
About half the time
- 4
More than half the time
- 5
Continually or almost continually
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.