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.
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $172K/yr
- Freelance example
- $173/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Physicists
Assess acoustic questions in buildings through appropriate measurement and modeling evidence. Explain occupancy, material, and boundary assumptions while preserving qualified responsibility for construction details, compliance conclusions, and final performance verification.
View career → Building Acoustics Consultant
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $99K/yr
- Freelance example
- $112/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
Develop building design proposals that connect client needs, spatial organization, regulations, and technical coordination. Maintain clear professional responsibility for the approvals and licensed services required in the relevant jurisdiction.
View career → Building Architect
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop electrical design studies for buildings using authorized requirements and site evidence. Coordinate load assumptions, interfaces, and verification while maintaining licensed responsibility for protection, installation, and safe operation.
View career → Building Electrical Engineer
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $101K/yr
- Freelance example
- $113/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Civil Engineers
Assess building enclosure performance questions through design records, measurements, and qualified investigation. Examine interfaces and uncertainty while distinguishing preliminary findings from certified design, compliance, or responsibility for site repairs.
View career → Building Enclosure Consultant
Real estate & property
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Assesses building energy information and improvement opportunities within appropriate training, site access, measurement methods, and any applicable certification requirements.
View career → Building energy auditor
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Model building energy behavior using geometry, occupancy, systems, and weather assumptions. Compare scenarios consistently and explain why simulated savings require validation against site evidence and actual operating conditions.
View career → Building Energy Modeler
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $99K/yr
- Freelance example
- $112/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
Coordinate building models and information exchanges across design disciplines. Identify inconsistent requirements, version conflicts, and unresolved interfaces while preserving each qualified designer's responsibility for technical decisions.
View career → Building Information Modeling Coordinator
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Freelance example
- $142/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Develop software that improves building model workflows and information checks. Connect model structures, user requirements, and reproducible validation while avoiding claims that automated checks replace qualified design review.
View career → Building Information Modeling Developer
Real estate & property
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Analyzes building service, occupancy, and maintenance information to identify operating patterns and evidence gaps without inferring technical safety or performance from incomplete data.
View career → Building operations analyst
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Develop mechanical building-system requirements and design evidence. Connect occupant needs, load assumptions, equipment interfaces, and maintenance access while reserving installation and professional approval for appropriately qualified personnel.
View career → Building Services Mechanical Engineer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
A business analyst translates an operational problem into clear requirements and decisions. They connect stakeholder needs, process details, and evidence so a team can improve a workflow without solving the wrong problem.
View career → Business analyst
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps organizations identify critical activities, dependencies, and recovery responsibilities, creating continuity plans that are tested and reviewed rather than assumed to work.
View career → Business continuity consultant
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer Systems Analysts
Create a shared view of business performance that people can trust. Business intelligence analysts define metrics, connect reporting sources, and build dashboards that make recurring operational questions easier to answer consistently.
View career → Business Intelligence Analyst
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps organizations examine how an offer creates value, reaches customers, and covers costs through explicit assumptions and practical tests rather than diagrams alone.
View career → Business model consultant
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Helps professionals make workplace writing clearer, more purposeful, and easier to act on through annotated examples, practice, and feedback grounded in actual reader needs.
View career → Business writing coach
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Freelance example
- $92/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Camera operators, television, video, and film
Capture planned moving images with controlled framing, movement, focus, and communication suited to the production brief and practical shooting conditions.
View career → Camera operator
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Organize emissions inventories using stated boundaries, activity data, and applicable methodologies. Make estimation choices and evidence gaps visible so reported figures are not mistaken for independently assured or universally comparable claims.
View career → Carbon Accounting Analyst
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $84K/yr
- Freelance example
- $99/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Accountants and auditors
Organizes emissions-related activity information, calculation assumptions, and evidence trails under an agreed methodology, distinguishing an inventory estimate from assurance or a verified reduction claim.
View career → Carbon accounting consultant
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinates card-program delivery across product, operations, processors, and compliance owners, making launch dependencies and ongoing service responsibilities explicit.
View career → Card program manager
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Freelance example
- $83/hr
BLS · May 2025 · School and career counselors and advisors
A career coach helps a person clarify career options and take practical next steps. The work can include skills reflection, job search planning, and interview practice, with clear boundaries around the coach's qualifications and role.
View career → Career coach
Transport & logistics
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Freelance example
- $94/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Buyers and purchasing agents
Organizes carrier requirements, proposal comparisons, and commercial evaluation so transport purchasing decisions consider service evidence and practical operating constraints alongside price.
View career → Carrier procurement specialist
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $77K/yr
- Freelance example
- $93/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Writers and authors
Turn a documented project into a credible account of the problem, decisions, implementation, and outcomes without inventing evidence or causal claims.
View career → Case study writer
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $76K/yr
- Freelance example
- $92/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Human resources specialists
Organize performer availability, audition information, communications, and selection records while keeping casting decisions and contractual authority with the designated production team.
View career → Casting coordinator
Life sciences & biotech
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
Study cellular behavior using approved experimental systems and careful measurement. Evaluate image or assay evidence while accounting for variability, controls, and limits on transferring findings between biological models.
View career → Cell Biology Research Scientist
Life sciences & biotech
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
Study process questions relevant to cell-based products in appropriately authorized settings. Connect variability, analytical evidence, and documentation while recognizing the specialized validation and quality controls required before clinical or commercial use.
View career → Cell Therapy Process Development Scientist
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Supports people leading organizational change by examining stakeholder concerns, communication choices, and adoption barriers while leaving implementation accountability with the organization's leaders.
View career → Change management coach
Design
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Special effects artists and animators
Develop a fictional character's visual language through silhouettes, proportion, expression, and practical notes for later production.
View career → Character concept artist
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Organizes disputed-payment evidence and deadlines under approved payment-network processes, maintaining clear records without assuming every dispute can or should be contested.
View career → Chargeback analyst
Public sector & nonprofit
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Investigate administrative and service-delivery processes so a charitable organization can improve coordination, clarify ownership, and use limited capacity more consistently.
View career → Charity operations consultant
Retail & ecommerce
- Employee reference
- $79K/yr
- Freelance example
- $95/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Market research analysts
Investigate checkout friction through task observation, measurement checks, and controlled changes that account for payment, fulfillment, and customer-expectation dependencies.
View career → Checkout optimization specialist
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps organizations examine reuse, repair, recovery, and service-model options using evidence about materials, customer behavior, operations, and practical constraints rather than circularity slogans.
View career → Circular economy consultant
Public sector & nonprofit
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Web and digital interface designers
Connect residents' tasks with public-service touchpoints and backstage processes so improvements reflect understandable information, accessible participation, and practical delivery responsibilities.
View career → Civic service designer
Public sector & nonprofit
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinate technical delivery for a public-interest service while connecting user needs, procurement constraints, system dependencies, accessibility, and clear acceptance decisions.
View career → Civic technology project manager
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $101K/yr
- Freelance example
- $113/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Civil Engineers
Develop civil infrastructure design information under qualified engineering supervision. Connect site evidence, geometry, technical requirements, and review records while reserving professional approvals and construction authorization for designated licensed engineers.
View career → Civil Engineering Designer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $134K/yr
- Freelance example
- $141/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Nuclear Engineers
Support civilian nuclear engineering studies, requirements, and assurance documentation under appropriate oversight. Work with authorized public evidence and qualified reviewers rather than treating general analysis as permission for operational or safety-critical changes.
View career → Civil Nuclear Systems Engineer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Evaluate energy projects and technologies through transparent comparisons of performance, cost, and uncertainty. Help decision-makers understand assumptions rather than presenting a single scenario as a guaranteed commercial outcome.
View career → Clean Energy Analyst
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $73K/yr
- Freelance example
- $90/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Fundraisers
Help clean-energy teams explain a credible project and evidence plan in funding proposals. Connect objectives, budget assumptions, and review milestones without promising technical performance, awards, or future commercial returns.
View career → Clean Energy Grant Writer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Compare environmental evidence across clean-technology life cycles using consistent functional units and boundaries. Explain allocation choices and uncertainty so an attractive single metric does not hide important tradeoffs.
View career → Clean Technology Lifecycle Analyst
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
Examines how climate-related scenarios could affect assets or operations, documenting assumptions, uncertainty, and exposure rather than presenting a scenario as a forecast of precise future losses.
View career → Climate risk analyst
Fitness & sport coaching
- Employee reference
- $47K/yr
- Freelance example
- $68/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Fitness Trainers and Instructors
Introduces climbing movement and participation within an appropriately managed venue, using clear instruction, supervision, and activity-specific competence for the chosen climbing environment.
View career → Climbing instructor
Healthcare technology
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Coordinates clinical research data quality, queries, documentation, and controlled processes so authorized study teams can understand records and unresolved issues without inventing missing evidence.
View career → Clinical data manager
Healthcare technology
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps authorized teams document, test, and govern clinical decision-support tools, ensuring professional owners control clinical content, escalation, and the interpretation of alerts.
View career → Clinical decision support analyst
Nutrition & wellness coaching
- Employee reference
- $76K/yr
- Freelance example
- $93/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Dietitians and Nutritionists
Works within healthcare teams to assess nutrition needs and support a documented care process, with clinical decisions governed by qualifications, patient context, and institutional protocols.
View career → Clinical dietitian
Life sciences & biotech
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
Analyze authorized clinical research datasets with attention to study design, privacy, and data quality. Produce reproducible summaries while keeping statistical findings separate from medical advice or individual treatment decisions.
View career → Clinical Research Data Analyst
Healthcare technology
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Translates clinical-team needs into system requirements and testable workflows, coordinating technical change with qualified clinical owners, operational constraints, and appropriate review.
View career → Clinical systems analyst
Healthcare technology
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Configures and supports clinical research systems under approved study governance, maintaining role access, traceable changes, and qualified ownership of protocol or participant decisions.
View career → Clinical trial systems specialist
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $134K/yr
- Freelance example
- $141/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer Network Architects
Plan cloud systems around business requirements, failure scenarios, and operating constraints. Cloud architects compare design choices, document why they fit, and guide migrations while keeping cost, security, and team capability visible.
View career → Cloud Architect
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $134K/yr
- Freelance example
- $141/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer Network Architects
Build and operate cloud environments that applications can use safely and predictably. Cloud engineers turn infrastructure plans into repeatable configurations, manage access, and make cost and operational behavior visible to teams.
View career → Cloud Engineer