What kinds of workers are employed by a particular industry, and what jobs are you qualified for right now? What jobs require special education or training? And, what advancement opportunities do these jobs offer in the long run? The Career Guide to Industries addresses these questions and more for 42 diverse industries which, when combined, accounted for nearly 3 out of 4 wage and salary jobs in 2000.

As a companion to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Career Guide discusses careers from an industry perspective. Why? Because many career-minded people think in terms of industries rather than occupations. Your personal circumstances or choice of lifestyle may compel you to remain in your area, limiting prospective jobs to those offered by the distinctive mix of industries in your State or community. Or, you may be attracted to a particular industry for other reasons—the glamour and travel associated with the air transportation industry, the potential for high earnings in the securities and commodities industry, the appeal of using advanced technology in aerospace manufacturing, the opportunity to work with children offered by the educational services industry, or the stability of jobs in the Federal Government, to name a few. By focusing on industries, the Career Guide provides information that the Handbook does not. Furthermore, some occupations are unique to a particular industry, and are not discussed in the Handbook. And, some industries offer specific paths of career advancement that are not addressed in the Handbook.

For each industry, the Career Guide includes a section with information on each of the following topics, although the information presented within each section varies slightly from industry to industry:

Nature of the Industry

• Description of the goods produced or the services provided.
• Description of individual segments of the industry.
• Description of production processes.
• Changes in technology or business practices taking place.

Working Conditions

• Description of the physical environment in which workers perform their duties.
• Hours of work, including frequency of night or weekend work, or split shifts.
• Physical activities essential to successful job performance.
• Proportion of part-time workers.
• Rate of job-related injury and illness.
• Extent and frequency of travel.

Employment

• Number of wage and salary jobs in the industry.
• Number of self-employed persons in the industry, where significant.
• Data on the age of workers, where significant.
• Number of establishments and concentration of industry employment by State.
• Distribution of establishments and employment in the industry by employment-size class.
• Data on other unusual characteristics of industry workers, where significant.

Occupations in the Industry

• Description of the various jobs in the industry and how each fits into the process of producing goods or delivering services to consumers.
• Current and projected wage and salary jobs by occupation.

Training and Advancement

• Qualifications required or preferred for key occupations.
• Types of formal education and other training that employers in the industry generally require or prefer.
• Discussion of how experience, on-the-job training, formal employer training, and continuing education enable workers to advance in this industry.
• Paths of career advancement for key types of workers.
• Opportunities for self-employment.

Earnings

• Average weekly earnings in the industry.
• Earnings of key occupations in the industry
• Employee benefits that are often offered in the industry but which are uncommon in other industries.
• Principle unions representing workers in the industry.
• The proportion of workers who belong to unions or who are covered by union contracts.

Outlook

• Rate at which jobs in the industry are projected to grow or decline.
• The projected rate of job growth compared to that of the economy as a whole.
• Factors expected to influence employment growth in the industry, such as new technology, changing business practices, and demographics.
• Occupations expected to grow or decline
• Ease or difficulty of acquiring a job in the industry may be discussed.

Sources of Additional Information

No single publication can completely describe all aspects of an industry. Thus, the Guide lists mailing addresses for associations, government agencies, unions, and other organizations that can provide industry information. In some cases, tollfree phone numbers and Internet addresses also are listed. Links to non-BLS Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement. Free or relatively inexpensive publications offering more information may be mentioned; some of these may also be available in libraries, school career centers, guidance offices, or on the Internet.

Tables in the Career Guide

Unless otherwise indicated, the source of data presented in the tables is the Bureau of Labor Statistics.