Where the data comes from

O*NET OnLine

Maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor. Source for occupation descriptions, the skills and knowledge areas rated for each occupation, typical education/experience preparation levels ("Job Zones"), and the military-to-civilian occupation crosswalk used on the veterans page. O*NET updates its data on its own schedule; HandsOnward pulls from the current published database, not a fixed historical snapshot.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Wage figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program - the version currently loaded is dated May 2025. Job growth and openings figures come from BLS Employment Projections, currently the 2024–2034 projection cycle. Both are re-imported periodically as BLS publishes new releases; the data currently loaded was last refreshed July 2026.

National data, not local

Every wage and outlook figure on this site is a nationalnumber. Actual pay and job availability vary by state, metro area, employer, and your own experience - sometimes significantly. Treat these figures as a population-level starting point for comparison between careers, not a prediction of what you personally would earn or how easily you'd find work in your specific area.

Known limitations

• Some newer or narrowly-defined occupations don't yet have detailed BLS wage data (too small a sample to estimate reliably) or O*NET skill ratings (not yet surveyed) - this is disclosed directly on the affected occupation and goal pages, not hidden.
• O*NET rates every occupation on every skill category on a continuous scale - it doesn't mark any skill as strictly required versus optional. See how match scores are calculated for how this affects skill gap labeling.
• Neither source accounts for employer-specific hiring requirements.

See something wrong?

If a wage figure, skill, or occupation description looks off, it's worth reporting - this site is only as good as the data underneath it. garrettledbetterdesigns@gmail.com.