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RoleSprint data product

Work Context Index

894occupations, ranked by how the work is actually done: measured contact with people, pressure, autonomy, physical demands and environment, from the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET 30.3 survey data, joined to BLS wage and outlook. Not opinion, not a personality quiz.

Which occupations match how I want to work, according to measured data rather than opinion?

The Work Context Index ranks 894 occupations on 28 conditions of work that O*NET 30.3 measures by surveying people who do the job: how much contact with others it requires, how often it involves angry people or strict deadlines, how much of the day is spent sitting, standing or outdoors, and how much freedom there is to decide. Pick the conditions you want less or more of and the explorer returns the occupations that sit furthest in that direction, each with its source value, the scale it was measured on, and the BLS median wage, typical education and projected growth. It does not measure stress, personality or suitability, and it says so wherever a search phrase might imply otherwise.

Occupations
894 with published O*NET Work Context ratings, 867 joined to a BLS line item
Dimensions
28 O*NET Work Context elements, each a mean incumbent rating on its own 1-to-5 scale with written anchors
Ranked lists published
21 preference rankings and 42 BLS-restricted variants, each listing 25 occupations
Dataset
Downloadable as JSON and CSV at /data/work-context.json and /data/work-context.csv, version 30.3-2026-09-05

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. Full methodology.

Rank occupations by the conditions you want

Choose Less or More beside any condition. Results show O*NET's own value on that question, where the occupation sits among all 894, and the BLS median wage, typical education and projected growth. The order is the mean of the percentile ranks you selected, and nothing else.

People
  • Contact with others
  • Customers and the public
  • Phone conversations
  • Face-to-face discussions
  • Public speaking
  • Working in a team
  • Leading others
  • Physical proximity
Pressure
  • Conflict situations
  • Angry or unpleasant people
  • Violent or aggressive people
  • Time pressure
  • Consequence of error
  • Competition
Autonomy and structure
  • Freedom to make decisions
  • Setting your own tasks
  • Being exact or accurate
  • Repeating the same tasks
Body
  • Sitting
  • Standing
  • Walking or running
  • Using your hands
Environment
  • Outdoors, all weather
  • Indoors, climate-controlled
  • In a vehicle
  • Noise exposure
  • Hazardous conditions
  • Protective equipment

Pick at least one condition

Choose Less or More beside any condition. Every result shows O*NET's own value on that question, where it sits among 894 occupations, and the BLS wage and education for the occupation.

No conditions selected.

What O*NET actually measures

Each dimension is one Work Context question put to people in the occupation, answered on a five-point scale with written anchors. The index reproduces the mean answer; it does not rescale it. Stress, personality and suitability are not on this list because O*NET does not measure them.

People

How much of the job is contact, conversation, customers and teams.

Contact With Others 4.C.1.a.4
“How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?” 1 = No contact with others; 5 = Constant contact with others. 894 occupations rated.
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 4.C.1.b.1.f
“How important is it to deal with external customers (as in retail sales) or the public in general (as in police work) in this job?” 1 = Not important at all; 5 = Extremely important. 894 occupations rated.
Telephone Conversations 4.C.1.a.2.f
“How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.C.1.a.2.l
“How frequently does your job require face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 893 occupations rated.
Public Speaking 4.C.1.a.2.c
“How frequently does your job require public speaking (one speaker with an audience)?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.C.1.b.1.e
“How important is it to work with or contribute to a work group or team in this job?” 1 = Not important at all; 5 = Extremely important. 894 occupations rated.
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 4.C.1.b.1.g
“How important is it to coordinate or lead others (not as a supervisor or team leader) in accomplishing work activities in this job?” 1 = Not important at all; 5 = Extremely important. 894 occupations rated.
Physical Proximity 4.C.2.a.3
“To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks physically close to other people?” 1 = I don't work near other people (beyond 100 ft.); 5 = Very close (near touching). 894 occupations rated.

Pressure

Deadlines, conflict, angry people, the stakes of a mistake, competition.

Conflict Situations 4.C.1.d.1
“How frequently are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 4.C.1.d.2
“How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 4.C.1.d.3
“How frequently does this job require the worker to deal with physical aggression of violent individuals?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Time Pressure 4.C.3.d.1
“How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Consequence of Error 4.C.3.a.1
“How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not easily correctable?” 1 = Not serious at all; 5 = Extremely serious. 894 occupations rated.
Level of Competition 4.C.3.c.1
“To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?” 1 = Not at all competitive; 5 = Extremely competitive. 894 occupations rated.

Autonomy and structure

Freedom to decide, setting your own tasks, exactness, repetition.

Freedom to Make Decisions 4.C.3.a.4
“How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?” 1 = No freedom; 5 = A lot of freedom. 894 occupations rated.
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.C.3.b.8
“How much freedom does the worker have in determining the tasks, priorities, or goals of the job?” 1 = No freedom; 5 = A lot of freedom. 894 occupations rated.
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.C.3.b.4
“How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?” 1 = Not important at all; 5 = Extremely important. 894 occupations rated.
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 4.C.3.b.7
“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; 5 = Extremely important. 894 occupations rated.

Body

Sitting, standing, walking, using your hands.

Spend Time Sitting 4.C.2.d.1.a
“How much does this job require sitting?” 1 = Never; 5 = Continually or almost continually. 894 occupations rated.
Spend Time Standing 4.C.2.d.1.b
“How much does this job require standing?” 1 = Never; 5 = Continually or almost continually. 894 occupations rated.
Spend Time Walking or Running 4.C.2.d.1.d
“How much does this job require walking or running?” 1 = Never; 5 = Continually or almost continually. 894 occupations rated.
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 4.C.2.d.1.g
“How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?” 1 = Never; 5 = Continually or almost continually. 894 occupations rated.

Environment

Outdoors, climate control, vehicles, noise, hazards, protective equipment.

Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 4.C.2.a.1.c
“How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 893 occupations rated.
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.C.2.a.1.a
“How often does this job require working indoors in an environmentally controlled environment (like a warehouse with air conditioning)?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment 4.C.2.a.1.f
“How often does this job require working in a closed vehicle or operate enclosed equipment (like a car)?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 893 occupations rated.
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 4.C.2.b.1.a
“How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Exposed to Hazardous Conditions 4.C.2.c.1.d
“How often does this job require exposure to hazardous conditions?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 894 occupations rated.
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 4.C.2.e.1.d
“How often does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats or life-jackets?” 1 = Never; 5 = Every day. 891 occupations rated.

Published rankings

21 rankings of 894 occupations, each on one measure or one declared combination, plus 42 variants restricted by a BLS threshold where the restriction changes the answer.

People

Pressure

Environment

The dataset

Everything the pages and the explorer render, in one file: 894 occupations, 28 O*NET Work Context means each, the O*NET-SOC code, and the BLS wage, education, employment and outlook fields. Version 30.3-2026-09-05. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with the attribution below.

Cite this dataset

RoleSprint (2026). RoleSprint Work Context Index, version 30.3-2026-09-05. Derived from the O*NET 30.3 Database (Work Context), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://rolesprint.io/work-context. Methodology: https://rolesprint.io/work-context/methodology.

This dataset 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.

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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