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.
Design
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Freelance example
- $82/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Create a visual system that keeps an event recognizable across schedules, signage, speaker material, and audience communications.
View career → Event identity designer
Travel & hospitality
- Employee reference
- $82K/yr
- Freelance example
- $98/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Logisticians
Organize the movement of people, equipment, and materials around an event while accounting for venue access, sequencing, responsibilities, and workable contingency arrangements.
View career → Event logistics coordinator
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $77K/yr
- Freelance example
- $93/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
An executive assistant protects a leader's attention and keeps important commitments moving. The role combines judgment, coordination, confidentiality, and anticipation so decisions and relationships do not depend on an overflowing inbox.
View career → Executive assistant
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps executives examine leadership decisions, stakeholder relationships, and operating habits through confidential reflection, clearly agreed development goals, and evidence from their work.
View career → Executive coach
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Helps leaders communicate decisions, uncertainty, and priorities clearly across audiences, balancing directness with context and responsibility rather than polishing authority for its own sake.
View career → Executive communication coach
Fitness & sport coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Organizes exercise programs across instructors, venues, timetables, and participant needs, making enrollment, access, communication, and delivery responsibilities clear before sessions begin.
View career → Exercise program coordinator
Design
- Employee reference
- $63K/yr
- Freelance example
- $82/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Graphic designers
Shape labels, panels, and supporting visuals into an exhibition narrative that visitors can follow at different reading depths.
View career → Exhibition graphic designer
Travel & hospitality
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Organize experience listings, provider information, availability questions, and operational handoffs so a marketplace's offer remains understandable to both customers and participating providers.
View career → Experience marketplace coordinator
Content creation
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Special effects artists and animators
Translate an unfamiliar idea into a concise visual argument using a script, storyboard, and deliberate information hierarchy.
View career → Explainer video creator
Defense
- Employee reference
- $90K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Coordinate information and review workflows needed for export-control decisions. Track product descriptions, recipients, and approvals while reserving legal classification and authorization judgments for appropriately qualified professionals.
View career → Export Control Coordination Specialist
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $101K/yr
- Freelance example
- $113/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Civil Engineers
Evaluate building facade requirements across structure, environmental performance, materials, and interfaces. Document assumptions and testing needs so proposed details can receive qualified engineering and architectural review before implementation.
View career → Facade Engineer
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Helps facilitators improve session design, participation, and intervention choices through observation and reflection rather than prescribing the same workshop structure for every group.
View career → Facilitation coach
Real estate & property
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Coordinates building services, maintenance, vendors, and operational requirements so facilities remain usable, with specialist safety and technical decisions assigned to qualified professionals.
View career → Facilities manager
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Freelance example
- $94/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Trace factual claims to reliable evidence and document unresolved questions so publishers can make informed decisions before material is released.
View career → Fact-checking editor
Business & leadership coaching
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps family-business participants discuss roles, expectations, and working relationships while separating coaching from ownership arrangements, clinical family therapy, or specialist financial succession advice.
View career → Family business coach
Nutrition & wellness coaching
- Employee reference
- $64K/yr
- Freelance example
- $83/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Health Education Specialists
Teaches practical food planning and preparation skills for families, emphasizing accessible learning, varied household circumstances, and clear separation from clinical dietary care.
View career → Family food skills educator
Environment & agriculture
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Helps farms examine staffing, scheduling, records, logistics, and process constraints without assuming operational experience authorizes agronomic, veterinary, machinery, or regulated advice.
View career → Farm operations consultant
Negotiation & communication coaching
- Employee reference
- $69K/yr
- Freelance example
- $87/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Training and development specialists
Helps people prepare clear, specific feedback and receive it thoughtfully, separating observable work from personal labels and choosing an appropriate conversation context.
View career → Feedback coach
Food & beverage
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Investigate fermentation behavior for food or beverage applications. Use controlled experimental design and careful measurement to understand variability before proposing changes to a commercial production process.
View career → Fermentation Scientist
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $167K/yr
- Freelance example
- $168/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Marketing managers
Align program announcements, ticket information, audience segments, and campaign assets so a festival communicates clearly throughout its planning and delivery cycle.
View career → Festival marketing coordinator
Optical & photonics
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Translate communication capacity and route constraints into an optical network plan. Compare span losses, connection points, maintenance access, and resilience choices before physical installation or service migration begins.
View career → Fiber Network Optical Planner
Optical & photonics
- Employee reference
- $121K/yr
- Freelance example
- $130/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Electrical Engineers
Plan optical links that transmit information within a defined loss and reliability budget. Connect component choices, installation constraints, and measurement evidence to the required communication performance.
View career → Fiber Optic Engineer
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $75K/yr
- Freelance example
- $92/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Film and video editors
Shape the consistency and visual intent of recorded images while managing shot matching, color-pipeline assumptions, and the technical requirements of final delivery.
View career → Film colorist
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Connect screening schedules, venue logistics, participant information, and event responsibilities so a festival's program can be delivered consistently.
View career → Film festival coordinator
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $78K/yr
- Freelance example
- $94/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Editors
Evaluate and organize a screening program around an editorial purpose, audience needs, practical constraints, and a transparent record of selection decisions.
View career → Film festival programmer
Media & entertainment
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Project management specialists
Organize production schedules, crew information, equipment requests, and routine logistics so a film team can act on current and consistent instructions.
View career → Film production coordinator
Music & audio
- Employee reference
- $74K/yr
- Freelance example
- $91/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Music Directors and Composers
Develop original musical cues that support a film's dramatic intentions while coordinating timing, revisions, and the practical limits of recording or digital production.
View career → Film score composer
Cross-industry
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
A financial analyst turns financial and operating information into decision support. In a business planning role, they build forecasts, investigate variances, and explain which assumptions change the economics of a proposed action.
View career → Financial analyst
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $90K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Technical writers
Documents financial APIs so authorized integrators understand authentication, data contracts, lifecycle events, and error recovery without relying on undocumented operational assumptions.
View career → Financial API technical writer
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Organizes complex financial-crime evidence, timelines, and investigative questions within authorized procedures, maintaining source traceability and careful separation between facts and hypotheses.
View career → Financial crime investigator
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Freelance example
- $137/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Examines how financial information is collected, accessed, shared, and retained, turning documented requirements into reviewable controls under authorized privacy and legal ownership.
View career → Financial data privacy analyst
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $84K/yr
- Freelance example
- $99/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Accountants and auditors
Investigates differences between financial records, transaction events, and ledger balances, documenting corrections and unresolved questions under appropriate accounting and operational review.
View career → Financial reconciliation analyst
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Automates repeatable financial reporting steps while preserving reconciliations, review ownership, traceability, and the distinction between a generated report and an approved financial statement.
View career → Financial reporting automation consultant
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Identifies barriers in financial-service journeys through authorized accessibility testing, clear remediation evidence, and collaboration with teams responsible for sensitive user interactions.
View career → Financial services accessibility consultant
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $106K/yr
- Freelance example
- $117/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Computer systems analysts
Helps financial-service clients adopt systems through approved onboarding, configuration, training, and handover, making responsibilities around identity information and account access explicit.
View career → Fintech customer onboarding consultant
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $129K/yr
- Freelance example
- $137/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Information Security Analysts
Investigates security exposure in financial systems through authorized monitoring, evidence analysis, and escalation, keeping customer data and operational responsibilities within approved boundaries.
View career → Fintech cybersecurity analyst
Fintech & financial services
- Employee reference
- $79K/yr
- Freelance example
- $95/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Market research analysts
Designs acquisition and activation experiments for financial products, aligning claims, audience targeting, consent, and measurement with approved product and compliance requirements.
View career → Fintech growth marketer
Architecture & construction
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Support fire-protection engineering analysis and documentation within qualified professional practice. Coordinate requirements, design evidence, and review questions without treating a generic checklist or simulation as a certified life-safety design.
View career → Fire Protection Engineer
Fitness & sport coaching
- Employee reference
- $47K/yr
- Freelance example
- $68/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Fitness Trainers and Instructors
Develops training resources and practical learning activities for exercise instructors, helping qualified professionals explain movement, manage groups, and evaluate their own teaching practice.
View career → Fitness instructor educator
Food & beverage
- Employee reference
- $91K/yr
- Freelance example
- $105/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Chemists
Investigate flavor perception and ingredient behavior within a defined food application. Coordinate analytical evidence and sensory evaluation while documenting formulation restrictions and the limits of proposed flavor claims.
View career → Flavor Scientist
Transport & logistics
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Schedules vehicle maintenance around service requirements, qualified technician capacity, parts, and downtime while leaving technical inspections and repair decisions with authorized professionals.
View career → Fleet maintenance planner
Transport & logistics
- Employee reference
- $102K/yr
- Freelance example
- $114/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Management analysts
Coordinates vehicle availability, maintenance, records, suppliers, and operating responsibilities, relying on qualified technical and safety professionals for inspections, repairs, and regulatory decisions.
View career → Fleet manager
Physical sciences
- Employee reference
- $104K/yr
- Freelance example
- $116/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Mechanical Engineers
Investigate fluid behavior using physical models and appropriately validated observations. Examine boundary conditions, numerical error, and scaling assumptions before applying a result to an engineering problem.
View career → Fluid Dynamics Researcher
Music & audio
- Employee reference
- $73K/yr
- Freelance example
- $90/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Sound engineering technicians
Create synchronized physical sound performances that make screen actions feel consistent, detailed, and believable.
View career → Foley artist
Travel & hospitality
- Employee reference
- $103K/yr
- Freelance example
- $115/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Financial and investment analysts
Analyze ingredient, waste, purchasing, and sales assumptions to help hospitality teams understand cost differences and investigate the operational reasons behind them.
View career → Food and beverage cost analyst
Food & beverage
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Investigate whether ingredient and product evidence supports identity and origin claims. Combine analytical results, documentation, and uncertainty to flag inconsistencies without overstating what a single method can establish.
View career → Food Authenticity Analyst
Content writing
- Employee reference
- $77K/yr
- Freelance example
- $93/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Writers and authors
Explain food traditions, techniques, or experiences with specific observation, respectful sourcing, and clear evidence behind factual or historical claims.
View career → Food feature writer
Food & beverage
- Employee reference
- $89K/yr
- Freelance example
- $103/hr
BLS · May 2025 · Food Scientists and Technologists
Help product teams evaluate an ingredient in a specific food process. Translate supplier information into application trials, measurement criteria, and questions that determine whether the ingredient is suitable.
View career → Food Ingredient Applications Scientist