BLS Career Resource Guide 

How can BLS help me 

explore careers?
TURNING THE GEARS ON CAREERS 2 | BLS Career Resource Guide

TURNING THE GEARS ON CAREERS

How can BLS help me explore careers?

introduction

Whether you are gearing up to enter the workforce, explor-

ing different career paths and options, or educating others 

on the world of work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 

has the information to set your career exploration in 

motion!

The resources in this pamphlet will guide you to important 

job, pay, and employment data and publications to assist 

you in making better informed career decisions. We’re 

here to help!

For additional assistance, information, or copies of this 

material, please feel free to contact our information

specialists:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Division of Information and Marketing Services

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Room 2850

Washington, DC 20212

Telephone: . . .  202-691-520

Email: . . . . . .

  blsdata_staff@bls.go

Website: . . . .

 www.bls.go

Twitter: . . . . .

 @BLS_go
TURNING THE GEARS ON CAREERS

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BLS career tools

Occupational Outlook Handbook – 

all you need to know about hundreds of careers

Career Information App

Career Outlook –

Interesting articles about a lot of careers

Career materials for students

You’ve got questions? BLS has answers!

More career resources

Table of contents
TURNING THE GEARS ON CAREERS

4 | BLS Career Resource Guide

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, CareerInfo app, and Career Outlook are 

helpful tools for students, career counselors, jobseekers, and others.

Occupational Outlook Handbook

www.bls.gov/ooh

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is the government’s leading career 

resource on the job market. The OOH provides information that covers most jobs 

in the economy. It highlights key characteristics of occupations, such as job duties, 

work environment, wages, number of jobs, job outlook, and the education and 

training that jobseekers need. 

Career Information App

The OOH CareerInfo app is available on Apple iOS and Android devices. 

CareerInfo presents data and other details from the Occupational 

Outlook Handbook (OOH), the most popular BLS resource for 

career information.

The CareerInfo app, like the OOH, helps you find information 

about employment, pay, job outlook, education and training, 

and more for hundreds of detailed occupations. You can browse by 

occupational groups and titles or search by occupation or keywords.

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andboo

k

BLS career tools

Check out 

profiles on more 

than 300

occupations at

www.bls.gov/ooh
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Career Outlook www.bls.gov/careeroutlook

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k

This publication highlights occupations and industries in a variety of 

ways, including interviews with workers in unusual careers and charts 

showing expected employment change in industries. Career Outlook

articles include information on employment projections, pay, typical 

education and training required, and more.

Career Outlook has four departments:

• Feature articles present an in-depth look on a range of career topics.

• You’re a what? explores unusual occupations through the work of 

someone in that occupation.

• Interview with a... describes, in question and answer format, one 

worker’s career path.

• Data on display is a graphic presentation of data on 

employment and other topics.

Career Outlook supplements the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

These are just a sample of featured articles:

•	 “Gap year: Time off, with a plan”

•	 “Education pays”

•	 “Part-time jobs that pay more than $20 per hour”

•	 “Careers for people who are creative”

•	 “Apprenticeships: Outlook and wages in selected occupations”

5 | BLS Career Resource Guide
TURNING THE GEARS ON CAREERS

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class

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Career materials for students

BLS K–12

www.bls.gov/k12

This webpage is devoted to helping you discover valuable information about the 

economy and jobs that you can share with your students. Below are some of the 

K–12 resources geared towards learning about careers:

Career exploration

www.bls.gov/k12/students/careers/career-exploration.htm

Students can explore careers based on their interests. They will learn about 

the education and skills necessary for various careers, as well as the pay, job 

outlook, work environment, and more!

Choosing a career

www.bls.gov/k12/teachers/activities/choosing-a-career-activity.htm

This classroom activity is designed to encourage your students to begin thinking about 

their future careers. This activity helps you to learn more about various occupations 

that may be of interest to you.

STEM occupations periodic table

www.bls.gov/k12/students/careers/stem-table.htm

For career seekers interested in science, technology, engineering, 

and mathematics (STEM), this is a resource for you. Browse pay and 

employment data for various STEM careers.

Posters

www.bls.gov/k12/teachers/posters/

Access free posters with information about occupation 

groups, such as protective service, media and arts, 

healthcare, and more!

Videos

www.bls.gov/k12/students/videos/

Watch videos exploring different careers, including architect, 

dentist, and veterinarian.

O*NET career videos

www.careeronestop.org/Videos/CareerVideos/career-videos.aspx
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7 | BLS Career Resource Guide

You’ve got questions? BLS has answers!

1. How much does a lawyer make?

Check out how much lawyers make across the United States:

www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes231011.htm#st

You can find information about pay for other jobs in other areas at

www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm

2. Will there be more jobs for nurses in 5 years?

For the job outlook in nursing, see for example, registered nurses:

www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-6

3. I’m interested in the arts. What types of jobs should I explore?

You can find information about careers in the arts in the Career Outlook article, 

“Careers for people who are creative.”

4. I’m not sure about going to college. What options do I have?

There are many options available to you. Explore various occupations in

Career Outlook articles:

• “Employment outlook for occupations that don’t require formal 

educational credential”

• “Employment outlook for high school-level occupations”

• “Career planning for high schoolers”

• “Strong growth projected in fitness and recreational sports centers, 2018–28”

• “Focusing on style: Careers in personal appearance”

• “Got skills? Think manufacturing”

• “High-wage occupations by typical entry-level education, 2017”

5. Whom do I contact for more career information?

Call us at 202-691-5200 or email us at BLSDATA_staff@bls.gov.
TURNING THE GEARS ON CAREERS 8 | BLS Career Resource Guide

DOL One Stop —

www.careeronestop.org

CareerOneStop offers many useful resources to explore careers; find training and

employment opportunities; develop career goals; help with resume writing, 

applications, and interviews; compare wages by metropolitan areas; and find

your perfect job!

USAJOBS —

www.usajobs.gov

Interested in working for the U.S. federal government? USAJOBS connects

jobseekers with federal employment opportunities across the United States 

and around the world.

DOL O*NET —

www.onetonline.org

In addition to detailed information for nearly 1,000 occupations, 

O*NET has assessment tools that help guide you towards careers 

that best fit your interests and skills.

DOL My Next Move —

www.mynextmove.org

My Next Move lists the fastest growing occupations according to your interests 

and gives information on the skills and training needed to perform the job. 

Apprenticeships —

www.apprenticeship.gov

Apprenticeships are opportunities to gain paid work 

experience, work with a mentor, receive classroom 

instruction, and earn nationally recognized credentials.

Job Corps —

www.jobcorps.gov

Job Corps helps eligible young people ages 16 through 24 complete their 

high school education, trains them for meaningful careers, and assists 

them with obtaining employment.

State labor market information offices —

www.bls.gov/bls/ofolist.htm

State governments have organizations that 

provide information about jobs and pay.

More career resources

resources

Check

out these

other helpful

websites!
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Division of Information and Marketing Services

2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Room 2850

Washington, DC 20212