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.
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Freelance example
- $92/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Camera operators, television, video, and film
Plan aerial image capture around production needs, operating conditions, permissions, and the limits of the aircraft and qualified operator's authorized activities.
View career → Drone camera operator
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Organizes electronically stored information for authorized legal review, maintaining provenance, access controls, processing records, and repeatable search logic under the matter team's direction.
View career → E-discovery analyst
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Organizes restoration logistics, partners, records, and monitoring under qualified ecological direction, ensuring administrative progress is not mistaken for evidence that an ecosystem has recovered.
View career → Ecological restoration project coordinator
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $93K/yr
- Freelance example
- $106/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Web Developers
Build and improve online stores so shoppers can choose products and complete orders reliably. Ecommerce development connects product data, accessible purchase flows, inventory rules, and the operational needs of store staff.
View career → Ecommerce Developer
Retail & ecommerce
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Investigate suspicious commerce patterns through approved transaction data, documented decision rules, and careful separation between risk signals and conclusions requiring further review.
View career → Ecommerce fraud analyst
Retail & ecommerce
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Logisticians
Coordinate order processing, warehouse handoffs, shipping exceptions, and customer updates so fulfillment work follows a traceable and practical operating process.
View career → Ecommerce fulfillment coordinator
Retail & ecommerce
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Coordinate the recurring processes behind online trading, order exceptions, catalog changes, and team handoffs so operational problems have clear ownership and response routes.
View career → Ecommerce operations manager
Retail & ecommerce
- Employee reference
- $45K/yr
- Freelance example
- $66/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Photographers
Capture consistent product images that make identifying features, scale, variants, and material details understandable across a defined online catalog.
View career → Ecommerce product photographer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Freelance example
- $94/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
An editor improves the structure, clarity, consistency, and reliability of material before publication. The role combines audience judgment with careful collaboration so the final work preserves meaning and meets its purpose.
View career → Editor
Design
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Freelance example
- $82/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Build a publication's visual structure so long-form text, images, captions, and recurring features remain readable and consistent.
View career → Editorial designer
Design
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Freelance example
- $82/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Develop original illustrations that communicate an article's central idea while fitting the publication's tone, layout, and reproduction constraints.
View career → Editorial illustrator
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Evaluate barriers in learning materials and delivery workflows while helping teams plan practical alternatives and distinguish content issues from platform or instructional responsibilities.
View career → Educational accessibility specialist
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Special effects artists and animators
Use motion and visual analogy to explain a focused learning concept while managing cognitive load and the limits of simplification.
View career → Educational animation creator
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Organize and interpret learning-related records so an education team can understand participation, progression, and differences requiring careful investigation rather than assumptions.
View career → Educational data analyst
Design
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Shape worksheets, job aids, and learning visuals around a specific practice task rather than adding decoration to instructional content.
View career → Educational materials designer
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $73K/yr
- Freelance example
- $90/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Sound engineering technicians
Create audio learning material that uses explanation, examples, and listener prompts to support a clear learning task without depending on unseen visual information.
View career → Educational podcast producer
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinate learning schedules, participant information, staff responsibilities, and delivery records so an educational program can operate with clear and current instructions.
View career → Education program coordinator
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinate a learning research project's scheduling, participant communications, materials, and records while keeping research design and interpretation with the responsible investigators.
View career → Education research coordinator
Education & learning
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Turn an approved learning design into a functional digital module with clear interactions, feedback, accessible assets, and dependable completion behavior.
View career → Elearning developer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Coordinate charging requirements with site capacity, user patterns, and installation dependencies. Help stakeholders compare practical options while preserving qualified electrical design, accessibility, permitting, and network approval responsibilities.
View career → Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Planner
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinate projects that replace suitable fossil-fuel uses with electrical systems. Connect asset readiness, infrastructure dependencies, budgets, and user needs while keeping qualified technical approvals and uncertain outcomes explicit.
View career → Electrification Program Manager
Optical & photonics
- Employee reference
- $123K/yr
- Freelance example
- $132/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Engineers, All Other
Integrate optical sensing with electronics and software in a coherent instrument. Maintain interface requirements and verification plans so performance can be evaluated across the complete sensing chain.
View career → Electro-Optical Systems Engineer
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $91K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Chemists
Study charge-transfer processes and their behavior in chemical systems. Interpret electrochemical measurements with attention to reference conditions, competing mechanisms, and limitations relevant to the intended application.
View career → Electrochemist
Healthcare technology
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Supports health-record system adoption through workflow discovery, configuration, migration planning, testing, and training under institutional governance and qualified clinical review.
View career → Electronic health record implementation consultant
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $77K/yr
- Freelance example
- $93/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Writers and authors
Structure commercial or lifecycle messages around a specific customer situation, credible offer, and clear action without confusing copy decisions with delivery performance.
View career → Email copywriter
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $79K/yr
- Freelance example
- $95/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Market research analysts
An email marketing specialist develops messages and journeys for an organization's subscribers and customers. The work connects relevant content, segmentation, testing, and delivery quality so communications serve a clear audience need.
View career → Email marketing specialist
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $136K/yr
- Freelance example
- $142/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Software Developers
Write software that interacts with physical hardware under memory, timing, and power constraints. Embedded developers make device behavior predictable and diagnosable while coordinating closely with electronics and mechanical design decisions.
View career → Embedded Software Developer
Nutrition & wellness coaching
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Freelance example
- $83/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Health Education Specialists
Supports employee-led wellbeing habits through confidential coaching, practical reflection, and navigation of existing workplace resources without acting as an employer's clinical assessor.
View career → Employee wellness coach
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Teaches approved employment-policy processes through clear scenarios and practical learning checks, leaving jurisdiction-specific legal interpretations and employment decisions to qualified authorized reviewers.
View career → Employment compliance trainer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $140K/yr
- Freelance example
- $145/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Database Architects
Build dependable data flows for energy measurements, assets, and reporting. Preserve timestamps, units, quality flags, and provenance so operational or planning analyses do not depend on silently inconsistent records.
View career → Energy Data Engineer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Assess energy use and improvement opportunities using building or process evidence. Explain measurement limits, operating assumptions, and validation needs while keeping regulated assessments and design approvals within qualified professional boundaries.
View career → Energy Efficiency Auditor
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Investigates energy-use patterns and practical improvement opportunities within appropriate competence, coordinating qualified technical review before recommending equipment changes or claiming verified savings.
View career → Energy efficiency consultant
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
Analyze energy-market evidence and scenarios for business planning. Explain regional rules, data limitations, and sensitivity rather than presenting price history or a simplified forecast as a guaranteed financial outcome.
View career → Energy Market Analyst
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Organize public regulatory requirements and evidence for energy projects or products. Coordinate technical questions and document reviews while reserving legal interpretation, licensed design, and official approval decisions for qualified authorities.
View career → Energy Regulatory Affairs Analyst
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Develop storage-system requirements and comparison studies for a defined energy application. Coordinate electrical, thermal, control, and operational constraints while preserving qualified responsibility for safety and installation decisions.
View career → Energy Storage Systems Engineer
Energy & clean technology
- Employee reference
- $90K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Explain energy systems, products, and analytical findings for defined audiences. Keep assumptions, terminology, and approval boundaries traceable to qualified sources so simplified documentation does not imply unsupported technical certainty.
View career → Energy Technical Writer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $99K/yr
- Freelance example
- $112/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Develop and maintain authorized endpoint configuration and management workflows. Connect user needs, deployment evidence, recovery, and access controls while preserving operational ownership of live device changes and support coverage.
View career → Enterprise Endpoint Engineer
Cybersecurity & IT
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Plan how business systems exchange information across authorized organizational boundaries. Connect data ownership, interface requirements, failure handling, and migration assumptions while preserving practical responsibility for ongoing integration operations.
View career → Enterprise Integration Architect
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Freelance example
- $91/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Public relations specialists
Prepare and coordinate public communications for productions or creative talent while maintaining accurate information, approval routes, and realistic expectations about media attention.
View career → Entertainment publicist
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Teaches business exploration through customer research, offer testing, and operating assumptions while distinguishing learning activities from evidence of commercial success.
View career → Entrepreneurship educator
Life sciences & biotech
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Evaluate biological approaches to environmental questions using approved studies and field evidence. Connect laboratory findings, ecological context, and monitoring needs while avoiding unsupported claims about environmental release or remediation performance.
View career → Environmental Biotechnologist
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Organizes environmental obligations, monitoring evidence, and reporting processes under approved requirements, distinguishing documented findings from conclusions requiring scientific, legal, or regulatory sign-off.
View career → Environmental compliance analyst
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Studies environmental measurements and monitoring information, explaining quality, coverage, and uncertainty before teams draw conclusions about conditions, trends, or proposed interventions.
View career → Environmental data analyst
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Operations Research Analysts
Uses geographic information to explore environmental questions, preserving source dates, coordinate assumptions, spatial uncertainty, and the difference between mapped indicators and validated field conditions.
View career → Environmental GIS specialist
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Organizes environmental evidence, project effects, and assessment questions within appropriate scientific and regulatory review, distinguishing analytical support from authorized environmental approval.
View career → Environmental impact analyst
Real estate & property
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Coordinates escrow processes and authorized transaction instructions within required licensing, institutional controls, and strict responsibilities around documents, approvals, and client funds.
View career → Escrow officer
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $90K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Coordinates sustainability and governance reporting by connecting approved claims to evidence, definitions, owners, and review responsibilities rather than presenting incomplete disclosures as verified performance.
View career → ESG reporting specialist
Legal & compliance
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Coordinates organizational ethics education, reporting channels, and policy processes while ensuring sensitive concerns reach qualified, authorized owners rather than informal public judgment.
View career → Ethics program manager