Work Context Index
Jobs where you sit for most of the day without a bachelor's degree
Jobs where you sit for most of the day, restricted to occupations with a BLS typical entry-level education below a bachelor's degree (no formal credential, high school, some college, a postsecondary award or an associate's degree). 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 sitting whose typical entry education is below a bachelor's degree?
Only 516 of the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates have a BLS typical entry-level education below a bachelor's degree (no formal credential, high school, some college, a postsecondary award or an associate's degree). Ranked by Spend Time Sitting, highest first, 25 are listed: 8 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 17 enter only under this restriction, led by Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks (4.79 of 5), Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners (4.79 of 5), Paralegals and Legal Assistants (4.77 of 5). The strongest overall are Public Safety Telecommunicators (4.99 of 5), Word Processors and Typists (4.9 of 5), Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks (4.89 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $50,160 (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
- 516 of 894 O*NET occupations qualify (a BLS typical entry-level education below a bachelor's degree (no formal credential, high school, some college, a postsecondary award or an associate's degree)); percentiles are still taken over all 894
- 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). 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 “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 | 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 |
| 3 | 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 |
| 4 | 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 |
| 5 | 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 |
| 6 | 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 |
| 7 | 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 |
| 8 | 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 |
| 9 | Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-3051.00 | 4.79 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 96% of 894 occupations | $58,260 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -15.9% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners O*NET-SOC 27-3092.00 | 4.79 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 96% of 894 occupations | $72,420 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · -0.1% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Paralegals and Legal Assistants O*NET-SOC 23-2011.00 | 4.77 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 96% of 894 occupations | $62,890 median (2025) Associate's degree · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators O*NET-SOC 33-9031.00 | 4.77 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 96% of 894 occupations | $43,370 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -1.8% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Gem and Diamond Workers O*NET-SOC 51-9071.06 | 4.75 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 95% of 894 occupations | $52,540 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -3.2% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Loan Interviewers and Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-4131.00 | 4.69 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 94% of 894 occupations | $50,020 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -2.4% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs O*NET-SOC 43-4061.00 | 4.68 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $54,210 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +1.6% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Watch and Clock Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-9064.00 | 4.68 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $67,230 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-4041.00 | 4.67 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $50,080 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -7.4% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Bill and Account Collectors O*NET-SOC 43-3011.00 | 4.64 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 93% of 894 occupations | $47,030 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -10.4% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Billing and Posting Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-3021.00 | 4.63 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 92% of 894 occupations | $48,500 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.1% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Correspondence Clerks O*NET-SOC 43-4021.00 | 4.63 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 92% of 894 occupations | $46,800 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5.6% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Desktop Publishers O*NET-SOC 43-9031.00 | 4.63 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 92% of 894 occupations | $55,290 median (2025) Associate's degree · -14.5% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators O*NET-SOC 13-1031.00 | 4.62 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 92% of 894 occupations | $78,000 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5.5% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Intelligence Analysts O*NET-SOC 33-3021.06 | 4.61 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 92% of 894 occupations | $93,790 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +0.2% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Insurance Sales Agents O*NET-SOC 41-3021.00 | 4.60 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 91% of 894 occupations | $62,280 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.3% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants O*NET-SOC 43-6013.00 | 4.59 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 91% of 894 occupations | $45,930 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4.8% 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.
The restriction applied
Only occupations with a BLS typical entry-level education below a bachelor's degree (no formal credential, high school, some college, a postsecondary award or an associate's degree) are listed: 516 of 894 qualify.
The unrestricted ranking is at Jobs where you sit for most of the day.
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.