My favorite career research resources:

● BLS.gov for USA career information:

○ I type in “bls *career*” on google so for instance, “bls accountant” in order to find
the career. The BLS site itself is not very user friendly, but google does a good
job of indexing the important pages on the site.
○ For some reason, the site is very inaccurate when it comes to trade careers,
likely because many trade careers get paid in cash. The numbers it gives for
trade careers are definitely lower than in reality.
○ Can still be somewhat useful if you are international just to see what careers are
financially valuable here since it will be the same in many countries
○ Summary page will tell you important information about pay, education, work
experience/training, number of jobs, and job outlook.
○ Don’t forget to look at the different tabs across the top such as “What They Do”,
“Work Environment”, “How To Become One” etc

● Payscale.com for more USA career information

○ BLS data is collected via tax information/census from the government etc
○ Payscale data is often self reported
○ Sometimes one way is more accurate than the other
○ Data is never 100% accurate, take it with a grain of salt
○ If I’m looking up a career I will type “accountant salary payscale” onto google
○ I also enjoy the payscale interface and the tools they have.
○ For instance, they have self reported data about how satisfied people are with
their jobs and also the “meaning” of a job: https://www.payscale.com/data-
packages/most-and-least-meaningful-jobs/full-list
○ They also have self reported data about college degrees majors and how well
they pay: https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/majors-that-pay-you-
back/bachelors
○ Lots of really useful tools on payscale
● Glassdoor.com for more USA career information
○ I find glassdoor to be more accurate than payscale when it comes to salaries
○ Also mostly self reported data
 ○ Website itself is very user friendly, but I like to search “accountant glass door
salary” on google to find information
○ You can also get more specific with glass door and emphasize education levels
oftentimes as well
○ They will show how much different companies pay accountants
○ They will show how much accountants make in different states as well
○ Lots of incredibly useful data here
● Willrobotstakemyjob.com for automation research
○ Shows how likely different careers are to be automated
○ https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/
● General information about careers:
○ Subreddits, facebook groups, and career specific forums often give decent
general information about careers. You have to take it with a grain of salt
because it’s still opinion based but it can at least lead you in the right direction.
○ Reddit example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/
○ Facebook group example: https://www.facebook.com/groups/368938636647374
○ Career specific forum example: https://www.accountantforums.com/
● Specific Information About Careers:
○ Contact people directly by either reaching out through your network, looking up
local people that are actually in the career, etc.
○ Contact people on LinkedIn that are either in the career, hiring for the career, or a
recruiter for the career.
○ Either way, be respectful of their time and pleasant and many will be okay with
helping you.
○ Ask them key questions that will help you determine if that’s the right career for
you.