How to read these rates
Employee references are annual US median wages for the cited BLS occupation, which may cover several career paths. Freelance examples add $15,000 for benefits and $20,000 for business costs, then divide by 1,200 billable hours a year. Annual figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000 and hourly figures to the nearest dollar. Figures are before personal taxes, with no percentage fees. Open a guide to see the source or adjust the assumptions in the calculator.
Travel & hospitality
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Investigate service and administrative workflows across a hotel so managers can identify operational friction, assign ownership, and test practical improvements.
View career → Hotel operations consultant
Travel & hospitality
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
Analyze room-demand patterns, pricing assumptions, and booking behavior so a hotel can evaluate commercial choices without treating a forecast as a guaranteed result.
View career → Hotel revenue analyst
Real estate & property
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinates housing initiatives across eligibility processes, partners, funding requirements, and participant access while keeping sensitive decisions and legal interpretations with authorized qualified teams.
View career → Housing program manager
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $76K/yr
- Freelance example
- $92/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Human resources specialists
An HR consultant helps an organization improve its people processes. They may clarify onboarding, performance conversations, role expectations, or employee records while working carefully with sensitive information and the organization's decision makers.
View career → HR consultant
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $125K/yr
- Freelance example
- $133/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Chemical Engineers
Assess process requirements for hydrogen-related industrial applications through qualified engineering work. Compare public process evidence and system interfaces while recognizing substantial safety, materials, and regulatory responsibilities for implementation.
View career → Hydrogen Process Engineer
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
Evaluate groundwater systems using geological, hydrological, and monitoring evidence. Explain uncertainty in flow and subsurface conditions while recognizing the professional approvals needed for site-specific environmental or engineering decisions.
View career → Hydrogeologist
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Evaluate mechanical and system requirements for hydropower applications using authorized site evidence. Connect water availability, equipment behavior, and operating constraints while preserving qualified environmental and engineering approvals.
View career → Hydropower Systems Engineer
Design
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Freelance example
- $82/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Create small visual symbols that remain recognizable, consistent, and useful across a defined interface or communication system.
View career → Icon designer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $99K/yr
- Freelance example
- $112/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Design and improve identity workflows that connect users, roles, and authorized resources. Account for account lifecycle, exceptions, and audit evidence without assuming a successful login proves that every access decision is appropriate.
View career → Identity and Access Management Engineer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Freelance example
- $137/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Review how access ownership, approvals, and exceptions are documented across organizational roles. Reconcile records and identify review gaps while leaving actual authorization and employment decisions with responsible business and security owners.
View career → Identity Governance Analyst
Optical & photonics
- Employee reference
- $123K/yr
- Freelance example
- $132/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Engineers, All Other
Design light distributions for products, inspection stations, or built environments. Balance useful illumination, glare, energy use, and manufacturability while documenting assumptions about surfaces and operating conditions.
View career → Illumination Engineer
Optical & photonics
- Employee reference
- $123K/yr
- Freelance example
- $132/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Engineers, All Other
Translate an imaging use case into requirements for lenses, sensors, processing, and illumination. Evaluate the complete chain rather than choosing components from isolated headline specifications.
View career → Imaging Systems Engineer
Music & audio
- Employee reference
- $73K/yr
- Freelance example
- $90/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Sound engineering technicians
Position and deliver spatial sound elements so an immersive production remains coherent across supported playback configurations.
View career → Immersive audio engineer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
An implementation consultant helps a customer adopt a system in daily work. They translate requirements into configuration, migration, training, and launch steps, with attention to the people who must operate it afterward.
View career → Implementation consultant
Transport & logistics
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Logisticians
Organizes international shipment administration and stakeholder communication while ensuring authorized specialists own customs classifications, declarations, and applicable trade decisions.
View career → Import export coordinator
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Freelance example
- $137/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Help organizations prepare and coordinate responses to authorized security incidents. Clarify evidence needs, escalation paths, and decision authority while distinguishing planning support from guaranteed containment or unlimited emergency availability.
View career → Incident Response Consultant
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Freelance example
- $94/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Organize a recurring publication around a reader need, reliable sourcing, and a manageable editorial and distribution workflow.
View career → Independent newsletter producer
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop automation requirements that connect process measurements, control logic, and equipment interfaces. Explain failure handling and verification needs before proposed changes reach real industrial machinery or production systems.
View career → Industrial Automation Engineer
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Translate equipment behavior into control requirements and verified logic. Account for signals, timing, interfaces, and recovery while reserving safety-critical decisions and live machinery changes for appropriately qualified personnel.
View career → Industrial Controls Engineer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Freelance example
- $137/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Review authorized security evidence for industrial technology environments. Account for equipment constraints, operational ownership, and safety dependencies while keeping assessments separate from unapproved live testing or changes to physical processes.
View career → Industrial Cybersecurity Analyst
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $79K/yr
- Freelance example
- $95/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Market research analysts
Evaluate how manufacturing tasks fit human capabilities and workplace conditions. Gather appropriate evidence and coordinate qualified review without treating an informal observation as a medical diagnosis or certified workplace safety assessment.
View career → Industrial Ergonomics Specialist
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop inspection-system requirements that connect cameras, image analysis, and production decisions. Evaluate defect definitions and sample variation while preserving appropriate authority for product release and equipment integration.
View career → Industrial Machine Vision Engineer
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Organize maintenance planning around asset records, resources, and approved service requirements. Compare workload and scheduling options while preserving qualified engineering ownership of maintenance procedures and safe equipment intervention.
View career → Industrial Maintenance Planning Analyst
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Develop measurement methods for manufacturing dimensions or physical properties. Account for calibration, fixturing, uncertainty, and repeatability so inspection results support decisions appropriate to the evidence rather than nominal instrument precision.
View career → Industrial Metrology Engineer
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Develop protective packaging concepts that fit product characteristics and distribution conditions. Compare material, handling, and test evidence while reserving qualified approval for dangerous goods, regulated applications, or certified transport performance.
View career → Industrial Packaging Engineer
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Industrial Engineers
Connect manufacturing requirements with inspection evidence and corrective-action processes. Help teams evaluate variation and nonconformances while preserving designated authority for acceptance, supplier approval, and changes to controlled production processes.
View career → Industrial Quality Engineer
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $91K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Chemists
Investigate chemical questions linked to industrial products or processes in approved facilities. Balance experimental evidence, manufacturability, and practical operating constraints while documenting decisions that require further validation.
View career → Industrial Research Chemist
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Develop and verify robot behavior in approved simulation or commissioning environments. Connect task sequences, coordinate assumptions, and exception handling while preserving qualified authorization for any physical robot operation.
View career → Industrial Robot Programmer
Manufacturing & robotics
- Employee reference
- $90K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Organize industrial safety procedures, training records, and review evidence under qualified supervision. Make ownership and document gaps visible without presenting administrative completeness as proof that machinery or work practices are safe.
View career → Industrial Safety Documentation Specialist
Design
- Employee reference
- $120K/yr
- Freelance example
- $129/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Data Scientists
Turn a focused evidence set into a visual explanation that preserves quantities, context, and the limits of the source data.
View career → Infographic designer
Design
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Freelance example
- $82/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Organize complex instructions or explanations into clear structures that readers can scan, interpret, and act on without losing essential detail.
View career → Information designer
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps organizations define how information is classified, accessed, retained, and disposed of, aligning practical workflows with approved requirements and evidence of control.
View career → Information governance consultant
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps teams move from broad ideas to evidence-seeking experiments without treating novelty, enthusiasm, or workshop participation as proof of customer value.
View career → Innovation coach
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $91K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Chemists
Study inorganic compounds and their properties within approved research settings. Connect composition, structure, and measured behavior to a clear scientific question without substituting a proposed compound for validated performance.
View career → Inorganic Chemist
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Freelance example
- $94/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Review learning material for clarity, consistency, objective alignment, and practical usability while coordinating factual questions with the relevant subject experts.
View career → Instructional content editor
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
An instructional designer turns a learning need into structured practice, feedback, and assessment. The goal is to help a defined audience perform a task, rather than simply present information in a course.
View career → Instructional designer
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Freelance example
- $92/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Camera operators, television, video, and film
Produce training videos that connect visible demonstrations, narration, captions, and practice prompts to a clearly defined learning objective.
View career → Instructional video specialist
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
Analyzes insurance-related data and pricing assumptions within approved actuarial and governance processes, distinguishing analytical support from authority to set regulated product terms.
View career → Insurance pricing analyst
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Translates insurance workflows into system requirements, connecting policy administration, claims handling, customer communication, and evidence needed by authorized operational and compliance reviewers.
View career → Insurance technology business analyst
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Supports pest-management decisions through appropriate training, evidence, and authorized professional scope, emphasizing identification, monitoring, and qualified review rather than generic treatment recipes.
View career → Integrated pest management adviser
Design
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Web and digital interface designers
Define how an interface responds to user actions across ordinary steps, error states, transitions, and recovery paths.
View career → Interaction designer
Music & audio
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Freelance example
- $142/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Connect musical stems and transitions to game states so the score reacts coherently to player actions.
View career → Interactive music implementer
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Helps teams examine communication expectations across cultures without reducing individuals to stereotypes, emphasizing inquiry, context, and explicit working agreements.
View career → Intercultural communication trainer
Transport & logistics
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Logisticians
Coordinates freight handoffs between transport modes, maintaining documentation, timing assumptions, and clear ownership when schedules, equipment, or connection availability change.
View career → Intermodal logistics coordinator
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Examines whether documented controls operate as intended, recording evidence, exceptions, and ownership so managers can address weaknesses without confusing a sample review with assurance certification.
View career → Internal controls analyst
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Organize internship onboarding, assignments, supervisor communication, and feedback so participants have a clear learning purpose and an understandable route for support.
View career → Internship program coordinator
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Freelance example
- $83/hr
BLS · May 2025 · School and career counselors and advisors
Helps candidates explain experience, practice answering relevant questions, and evaluate a role through structured rehearsal without inventing achievements or promising employment outcomes.
View career → Interview coach
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $73K/yr
- Freelance example
- $90/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Sound engineering technicians
Shape an interview format through guest preparation, structured questions, editorial decisions, and consistent episode delivery.
View career → Interview show producer