How to read these rates
Employee references are annual US median wages for the cited BLS occupation, which may cover several career paths. Replacement targets add $15,000 for benefits and $20,000 for business costs, then divide by 1,200 billable hours a year. They show what you would need to charge, not what customers or platforms will pay. Everyday shift and gig roles show no inferred freelance rate: compare your actual worker receipts after costs and unpaid time. 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.
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Replacement target
- $87/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Teaches sales teams to discuss commercial terms, uncover decision constraints, and prepare concessions while respecting authority limits and the customer's actual requirements.
View career → Sales negotiation trainer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Replacement target
- $114/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
A sales operations analyst improves the information and processes behind a sales team. They maintain useful pipeline data, investigate funnel changes, and make reporting or handoff problems visible before leaders act on misleading numbers.
View career → Sales operations analyst
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Replacement target
- $114/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Reviews screening alerts within approved institutional procedures, distinguishing potential matches from confirmed findings and escalating decisions through authorized compliance and legal channels.
View career → Sanctions screening analyst
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Replacement target
- $130/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop instrument concepts that connect a scientific question with measurable signals. Coordinate mechanical, electrical, software, and calibration interfaces so performance requirements can be evaluated through a coherent verification plan.
View career → Scientific Instrumentation Engineer
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Replacement target
- $116/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Design evidence packages that test whether a scientific method is suitable for its intended use. Make acceptance criteria, uncertainty, repeatability, and known limitations explicit before results inform important decisions.
View career → Scientific Method Validation Specialist
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Replacement target
- $142/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Build software that makes scientific methods easier to reproduce and maintain. Translate research assumptions into tested code while keeping numerical behavior, provenance, and user expectations visible.
View career → Scientific Research Software Engineer
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $172K/yr
- Replacement target
- $173/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Physicists
Develop reliable computational tools for scientific or engineering simulation. Connect physical assumptions, solver behavior, and verification evidence so users understand where a model is useful and where it may fail.
View career → Scientific Simulation Engineer
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Replacement target
- $87/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Capture software workflows clearly while controlling screen context, cursor emphasis, narration timing, and version-specific instructions.
View career → Screencast producer
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $77K/yr
- Replacement target
- $93/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Writers and authors
Develop scenes, dialogue, and visual action into a producible script that makes character intentions and story progression understandable on screen.
View career → Screen scriptwriter
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Replacement target
- $94/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Maintain current script versions, revision records, and distribution conventions so a production's collaborators can identify approved material and understand what changed.
View career → Script coordinator
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $90K/yr
- Replacement target
- $104/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Record continuity, takes, scene coverage, and production changes so editors and production teams can reconstruct what was captured and resolve mismatches.
View career → Script supervisor
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Replacement target
- $114/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
A scrum master helps a team inspect its work and improve how it collaborates. The useful outcome is clearer commitments and fewer persistent obstacles, supported by facilitation rather than ceremony alone.
View career → Scrum master
Software & AI
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Replacement target
- $142/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Improve how search results match a user's intent within a defined collection. Connect ranking changes with evaluation examples, user evidence, and operational constraints rather than optimizing one metric without checking practical effects.
View career → Search Relevance Engineer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Replacement target
- $137/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Evaluate system security designs against stated business and technical requirements. Compare control options and their tradeoffs while documenting assumptions, residual risks, and decisions that remain with authorized organizational owners.
View career → Security Architecture Consultant
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Replacement target
- $87/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Develop security learning that helps a specific audience recognize and handle relevant situations. Connect practical objectives with accessible exercises and measurement while avoiding misleading claims that training alone prevents incidents.
View career → Security Awareness Training Specialist
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Replacement target
- $137/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Translate security concerns into changes an organization can understand and prioritize. Security consultants assess practices, explain tradeoffs, and help owners choose practical controls with clear responsibility for implementation and ongoing review.
View career → Security Consultant
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Replacement target
- $137/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Develop and evaluate detection logic using authorized telemetry and documented threat questions. Measure signal quality, missing context, and false positives so operational teams can judge whether an alert supports a useful investigation.
View career → Security Detection Engineer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Replacement target
- $137/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Develop the systems and workflows that help security teams evaluate alerts and respond appropriately. Connect logging quality, detection logic, and operational ownership while controlling noise and documenting gaps in visibility.
View career → Security Operations Engineer
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Replacement target
- $94/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Review a manuscript's representation choices through an explicitly defined perspective while explaining concerns as contextual editorial feedback rather than universal audience judgments.
View career → Sensitivity reader
Food & beverage
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Replacement target
- $103/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Design studies that describe how people perceive food and beverages. Control sampling conditions and interpretation so product teams can distinguish useful differences from expectation or measurement noise.
View career → Sensory Scientist
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Replacement target
- $94/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Improve search-oriented material by aligning reader intent, factual quality, structure, and internal references rather than relying on repeated keywords.
View career → SEO content editor
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $79K/yr
- Replacement target
- $95/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Market research analysts
An SEO specialist helps useful website content become easier to discover through search. The work combines technical investigation, audience intent, and content improvements with measurement that separates observed changes from assumptions.
View career → SEO specialist
Design
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Replacement target
- $116/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Web and digital interface designers
Connect a customer's visible journey with backstage activities, responsibilities, and handoffs needed to deliver a dependable service.
View career → Service designer
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Replacement target
- $82/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Develop signs, labels, and other environmental graphics that make a production setting visually coherent without relying on unapproved real brands or confusing instructions.
View career → Set graphics designer
Game development
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Replacement target
- $142/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Create controllable surface effects that support an art direction while respecting lighting assumptions, readability, and runtime performance constraints.
View career → Shader artist
Food & beverage
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Replacement target
- $103/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Evaluate how product quality and safety evidence changes over storage. Design studies that account for packaging, distribution conditions, and uncertainty rather than assigning dates from a single observation.
View career → Shelf Life Scientist
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Replacement target
- $92/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Film and video editors
Translate a focused idea into concise vertical video with a clear opening, readable captions, and purposeful pacing.
View career → Short-form video creator
Travel & hospitality
- Employee reference
- $17/hr
- $36K/yr reference
- Gig / shift income
- Check net pay
- Use receipts, costs, and all hours
BLS · May 2025 · Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Short-stay rental cleaners reset properties between guests, handle linens, and report damage. A cleaning fee is revenue before labor, laundry, supplies, and travel.
View career → Short-stay rental cleaner
Real estate & property
- Employee reference
- $70K/yr
- Replacement target
- $87/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers
Organizes guest communication, turnovers, maintenance, and property readiness within owner authority and local operating requirements, separating reliable service from promised occupancy or investment returns.
View career → Short-term rental operations manager
Retail & ecommerce
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Replacement target
- $114/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Maintain online category pages, navigation groupings, and promotional placements so a store's editorial choices remain aligned with available products and customer tasks.
View career → Site merchandising specialist
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $99K/yr
- Replacement target
- $112/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Use engineering methods to improve the reliability of running services. Site reliability engineers define meaningful service measures, reduce repetitive operational work, and help teams balance change with a tolerable level of failure.
View career → Site Reliability Engineer
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Replacement target
- $83/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · School and career counselors and advisors
Help organizations or individuals define observable skill evidence and consistent assessment criteria without equating a test result with an entire person's potential.
View career → Skills assessment consultant
Nutrition & wellness coaching
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Replacement target
- $83/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Health Education Specialists
Helps clients examine everyday sleep routines and follow through on self-selected habits, while referring suspected sleep disorders or medical concerns to clinicians.
View career → Sleep habit coach
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Replacement target
- $114/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Supports owners in clarifying goals, examining everyday operating constraints, and following through on manageable changes suited to the business's actual resources.
View career → Small business coach
Nutrition & wellness coaching
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Replacement target
- $83/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Health Education Specialists
Delivers structured tobacco-cessation education or support within recognized training and organizational protocols, referring medication and clinical questions to appropriately qualified professionals.
View career → Smoking cessation educator
Fitness & sport coaching
- Employee reference
- $47K/yr
- Replacement target
- $69/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Coaches and Scouts
Develops soccer players through technical practice, tactical learning, and team communication, connecting age-appropriate sessions with match situations and club responsibilities.
View career → Soccer coach
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Replacement target
- $114/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps mission-led founders examine impact goals, customer needs, operating capacity, and income without assuming that social purpose automatically establishes a viable business model.
View career → Social enterprise coach
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Replacement target
- $91/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Public relations specialists
A social media manager plans publishing and audience interaction for an organization. The role combines platform-appropriate content, community judgment, and reporting so public conversations support the brand's goals and responsibilities.
View career → Social media manager
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Replacement target
- $91/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Public relations specialists
Align a repeatable video format with platform behavior, audience questions, and a practical plan for testing creative choices.
View career → Social video strategist
Software & AI
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Replacement target
- $142/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Develop software agents for clearly bounded administrative tasks with explicit permissions and review points. Plan failure handling, logging, and reversibility so automation does not quietly exceed the user's intended authority.
View career → Software Agent Workflow Developer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Replacement target
- $142/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Turn a repeated business task into software people can use reliably. The value comes from understanding the workflow, making sound technical choices, and maintaining the result as needs change.
View career → Software Developer
Software & AI
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Replacement target
- $142/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Investigate software latency and resource use through repeatable measurements. Connect bottlenecks to representative workloads and correctness requirements rather than assuming that a favorable microbenchmark guarantees a better user experience.
View career → Software Performance Engineer
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Replacement target
- $103/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Investigates soil properties and processes through appropriate scientific methods, field permissions, and qualified interpretation, connecting evidence with its limits rather than generalizing from one sample.
View career → Soil scientist
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Replacement target
- $130/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop solar system design evidence that connects site conditions, electrical requirements, and expected generation. Coordinate qualified reviews and clearly distinguish modeled output from validated construction or operational performance.
View career → Solar Photovoltaic Design Engineer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Replacement target
- $117/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
A solutions architect designs how systems should work together to meet a business need. Their value is making technical tradeoffs explicit before expensive implementation decisions create avoidable reliability, security, or operating problems.
View career → Solutions architect
Music & audio
- Employee reference
- $73K/yr
- Replacement target
- $90/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Sound engineering technicians
Construct distinctive sound effects from original recordings, layers, and processing suited to a production's intended world.
View career → Sound effects designer
Optical & photonics
- Employee reference
- $91K/yr
- Replacement target
- $105/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Chemists
Help users determine whether a spectroscopic method can answer a material or process question. Evaluate sample preparation, interference, calibration, and interpretation limits before proposing an analytical workflow.
View career → Spectroscopy Applications Scientist
Software & AI
- Employee reference
- $120K/yr
- Replacement target
- $129/hr
- Income goal, not available pay
BLS · May 2025 · Data Scientists
Develop and evaluate speech-to-text systems for specified recording conditions and audiences. Account for consent, acoustic variation, language coverage, and error patterns rather than treating an aggregate score as complete user suitability.
View career → Speech Recognition Engineer