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Know Your Worth / Career paths

1,000 paths. Find your next move.

Compare skills, employee pay, and freelance economics. Explore industries from optical and food to science, music, games, writing, and coaching.

Browse 30 sectors + cross-industry careers

193–240 of 1,000 careers

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.

Cross-industry

Copywriter

Employee reference
$77K/yr
Freelance example
$93/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Writers and authors

A copywriter creates persuasive messages that help an audience understand an offer and decide what to do next. Effective copy connects customer needs, credible claims, and a clear action.

View career → Copywriter
Cross-industry

Corporate trainer

Employee reference
$69K/yr
Freelance example
$87/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists

A corporate trainer helps employees practice a specific workplace skill. They turn subject knowledge into clear exercises, useful feedback, and job-relevant examples so participants can apply what they learn after the session.

View career → Corporate trainer
Physical sciences

Crystallographer

Employee reference
$118K/yr
Freelance example
$127/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Materials Scientists

Determine and evaluate structural information from diffraction evidence. Assess model fit, symmetry, and uncertainty so a structural interpretation remains traceable to observations rather than a preferred visual model.

View career → Crystallographer
Transport & logistics

Customs broker

Employee reference
$82K/yr
Freelance example
$98/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Logisticians

Supports customs transactions within required authorization, gathering documentation and coordinating approved processes while maintaining clear responsibility for declarations, classification, and regulatory review.

View career → Customs broker
Cross-industry

Cybersecurity Analyst

Employee reference
$129K/yr
Freelance example
$137/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts

Investigate security signals and help organizations reduce exposure to threats. Cybersecurity analysts connect logs, access reviews, and incident evidence to practical response decisions, while distinguishing urgent findings from background noise.

View career → Cybersecurity Analyst
Fitness & sport coaching

Cycling coach

Employee reference
$47K/yr
Freelance example
$69/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Coaches and Scouts

Supports cycling development through structured sessions, ride analysis, and event preparation suited to the rider's discipline, experience, equipment, and available training time.

View career → Cycling coach
Food & beverage

Dairy Process Specialist

Employee reference
$89K/yr
Freelance example
$103/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists

Assess dairy processing workflows with attention to material characteristics, equipment constraints, and required validation. Translate operating records into improvement questions for qualified engineering and food safety teams.

View career → Dairy Process Specialist
Cross-industry

Data Analyst

Employee reference
$89K/yr
Freelance example
$103/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts

Turn messy records into clear answers for a business decision. Data analysts define useful measures, check data quality, and explain patterns without claiming that every observed relationship proves a cause.

View career → Data Analyst
Cross-industry

Database Administrator

Employee reference
$105K/yr
Freelance example
$116/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Database Administrators

Keep business databases available, recoverable, and appropriately protected. Database administrators manage access, diagnose performance issues, and test recovery procedures so important records remain usable when systems or people make mistakes.

View career → Database Administrator
Cross-industry

Data Engineer

Employee reference
$140K/yr
Freelance example
$145/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Database Architects

Build the pipelines that make data available for reporting and applications. Data engineers focus on dependable ingestion, clear schemas, recoverable failures, and a useful record of where each dataset came from.

View career → Data Engineer
Legal & compliance

Data protection officer

Employee reference
$129K/yr
Freelance example
$137/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts

Performs a designated privacy oversight role where applicable, combining appropriate expertise, independence, monitoring, and stakeholder communication within jurisdiction-specific duties and professional requirements.

View career → Data protection officer
Cross-industry

Data Scientist

Employee reference
$120K/yr
Freelance example
$129/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Data Scientists

Use statistical methods and models to investigate questions and support decisions under uncertainty. Data scientists judge whether available data can answer the question before investing in a more complicated prediction method.

View career → Data Scientist
Cross-industry

Data Visualization Specialist

Employee reference
$120K/yr
Freelance example
$129/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Data Scientists

Help people understand evidence through charts and interactive explanations. Visualization specialists choose suitable visual encodings, preserve important uncertainty, and design accessible ways to inspect a comparison without distorting the underlying data.

View career → Data Visualization Specialist
Defense

Defense Acquisition Analyst

Employee reference
$78K/yr
Freelance example
$94/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Buyers and purchasing agents

Help teams compare unclassified acquisition options against documented needs and constraints. Organize evaluation evidence, assumptions, and decision records without representing the work as an official procurement determination.

View career → Defense Acquisition Analyst
Defense

Defense Configuration Manager

Employee reference
$90K/yr
Freelance example
$105/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers

Maintain traceability between approved configurations, changes, and supporting records in unclassified programs. Help teams understand which document or component version applies without assuming administrative control replaces technical verification.

View career → Defense Configuration Manager
Defense

Defense Contracts Analyst

Employee reference
$102K/yr
Freelance example
$114/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts

Support analysis and administration of unclassified defense contracts using authorized records. Track deliverables, changes, and evidence questions while leaving legal interpretations and contracting decisions to appropriately authorized professionals.

View career → Defense Contracts Analyst
Defense

Defense Cost Analyst

Employee reference
$103K/yr
Freelance example
$115/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts

Assess unclassified program cost assumptions and their sensitivity to changing requirements. Distinguish estimates, committed costs, and uncertainty so decision-makers can understand the limitations of a budget comparison.

View career → Defense Cost Analyst
Defense

Defense Cybersecurity Analyst

Employee reference
$129K/yr
Freelance example
$137/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts

Review authorized cybersecurity evidence for unclassified defense support systems. Help teams document control gaps and response responsibilities while respecting strict access boundaries and ownership of security authorization decisions.

View career → Defense Cybersecurity Analyst
Defense

Defense Data Governance Analyst

Employee reference
$89K/yr
Freelance example
$103/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts

Help unclassified programs organize data ownership, quality, and authorized uses. Connect reporting needs with classification guidance, access records, and documentation while reserving official marking decisions for authorized personnel.

View career → Defense Data Governance Analyst
Defense

Defense Electronics Engineer

Employee reference
$121K/yr
Freelance example
$130/hr

BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers

Develop requirements and verification plans for unclassified support electronics. Coordinate power, interfaces, maintainability, and documented operating limits without working on weapons or sensitive operational capabilities.

View career → Defense Electronics Engineer