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There are 16 Career Clusters, or categories of occupations. Some occupations can be listed in more than one cluster. For instance, a Health Geographer, could be a Health occupation or an Information Technology occupation. A Health Geographer uses software to map the spread and distribution of disease.
Identifying one or more career clusters that interest you can help you to plan your high school coursework and eventually lead you to find specific occupations of interest.
*NEW* 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: UPDATED CAREER INFORMATION BY CLUSTER NORTH CAROLINA CAREER CLUSTERS GUIDE
CAREER FIELD CAREER FIELD DESCRIPTION CAREER CLUSTER VIDEOS BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Arts & Communication Professions Occupations in this career field are related to creative, visual craft and performing arts. This career field includes interior and fashion design, writing, film, fine arts, journalism, media and music.
VIDEOS
GENERAL: Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications
CLUSTER: Arts, audio/video technology, and communications
This Cluster has most of the arts and design, entertainment and sports, and media and communication occupations. There were about 1.8 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the arts, audio/video technology, and communications cluster, according to BLS. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $24,220 for floral designers to $83,000 for art directors.Health Professions
Occupations in this career field are related to people’s health care needs. This career field includes health and wellness, research, technology, medicine, foods, nutrition and the environment.
POSTER: Healthcare
VIDEOS
GENERAL: Health Science/ Biotechnology
EXPLORE: Specific careers in this pathway
EXPLORE (Spanish):Specific careers in this pathway
CLUSTER: Health science
Careers in the health sciences cluster involve helping people and animals with the medical care they need to get or stay healthy. Nearly all of the healthcare occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 12.2 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the health sciences cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $21,020 for home health aides to more than $187,200 (the highest median annual wage published by BLS) for occupations such as surgeons. Also: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Technicians. The occupation projected to have many more job openings than any other in the cluster is registered nurses.Business, Management & Technology Professions
Occupations in this career field are related to business occupations, administration, management marketing and sales, computer/information systems, web and graphic design. This career field includes entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, finance, accounting, economics and management, and information technology.
POSTERS: Business and financial occupations
POSTERS: Information Technology Occupatons
VIDEOS
GENERAL: Business Management & Administration
GENERAL: Finance
GENERAL: Information Technology
GENERAL: Marketing (Sales & Service)EXPLORE: Specific careers in this pathway
EXPLORE (Spanish):Specific careers in this pathway
CLUSTER: Business management and administration
Careers in this cluster involve planning, oversight, and organizational tasks needed to run a business. Many of the business and financial, management, and office and administrative support occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. In the SOC occupations that are assigned to the business management and administration cluster, BLS counted about 23.3 million jobs—the most of all the clusters. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $22,480 for stock clerks and order fillers to $171,610 for chief executives
CLUSTER: Finance
Careers in the finance cluster involve managing and working with money. A number of the business and financial and office and administrative support occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 5.3 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the finance cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $25,390 for tellers to $112,700 for financial managers.
CLUSTER: Marketing
Careers in the markeTing cluster involve promoting and selling products and services. Most of the sales occupations and some of the management occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 15.3 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the marketing cluster, one of the largest in terms of jobs. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $18,960 for cashiers to $123,220 for marketing managers. Also includes public relations and fundraising managers
CLUSTER: Information technology
Careers in the information technology cluster involve working with computer hardware, software, or network systems. Nearly all of the computer and information technology occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 3.5 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the information technology cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $46,620 for computer user support specialists to $101,410 for systems software developers. Also computer network architects.Human Services Professions Occupations in this career field are related to personal and customer services, social services, legal services, and protective services. This career field includes education, government and law enforcement, leisure and recreation, military, religion, childcare, social services and personal (beauty) services.
POSTER: Education Occupations
POSTER: Protective Services Occupations
POSTER: Hospitality & Tourism Occupations
POSTER: Public Service
POSTER: Safety Occupations
VIDEOS
GENERAL: Education and Training
GENERAL: Government & Public Administration
GENERAL: Hospitality & Tourism
GENERAL: Human Services
GENERAL: Law, Public Safety & SecurityCLUSTER: Education and training
Careers in the education and training cluster involve teaching and other tasks associated with schools, libraries, and museums. All of the education, training, and library occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 8.7 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the education and training cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $24,000 for teacher assistants to $105,080 for postsecondary law teachers. Related occupations are postsecondary health specialties teachers
CLUSTER: Government and public administration
Careers in the government and public administration cluster involve making laws, ensuring safety, and providing other public services. All of the military careers in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. However, BLS does not collect employment and wage data, designate education and training, or make projections for military specific occupations. Therefore, the information that follows excludes these occupations. BLS counted about 1 million jobs in the nonmilitary SOC occupations that are assigned to the government and public administration cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $20,620 for legislators to $76,890 for financial examiners. Additional are transportation security screeners, urban and regional planners, and compliance officers.
CLUSTER: Hospitality and tourism
Careers in this cluster involve providing people with food, lodging, and related services. All of the food preparation and serving occupations and a number of the personal care and service occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 17 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the hospitality and tourism cluster, making this cluster one of the largest in terms of jobs. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $18,330 for combined food preparation and serving workers to $25,060 for recreation workers and $57,580 for funeral service workers.
CLUSTER: Human services
Careers in the human services cluster involve helping people with a variety of needs, such as counseling and fitness training. Nearly all of the community and social service occupations and many of the personal care and service occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 5 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the human services cluster. Median annual wages varied. For example, the median annual wage for shampooers was $18,510, and the wage for industrial-organizational psychologists was $80,330. Careers are varied: laundry and dry-cleaning workers to a doctoral or professional degree and an internship or residency for clinical, counseling, and school psychologists. The occupation projected to have the most job openings in the cluster is personal care aides.
CLUSTER: Law, public safety, corrections, and security
Careers in this cluster involve protecting people and enforcing rules. All of the legal occupations and nearly all of the protective service occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 4.9 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the law, public safety, corrections, and security cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $19,040 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers to $118,150 for judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates. Among the occupations in this pathway is security guards, which is projected to have the most job openings in the clusterIndustrial and Engineering Technology Professions Occupations in this career field are related to the technology necessary to design, develop, install and maintain electrical, mechanical and structural systems. This career field includes architecture, engineering, manufacturing, construction, and related technologies.
POSTER: Periodic table of science, technology, engineering and math occupations
POSTER: STEM Occupations
POSTER: Construction Occupations
POSTER: Construction Occupations -2
POSTER: Ship Building & Repair
POSTER: Aeorspace & Aviation Occupations
POSTER: Manufacturing Occupation
POSTER: Engineering & Design Occupations
POSTER: Energy Occupations
POSTER: Electrictian Career Path
POSTER: HVAC Technician Career Path
POSTER: Plumbing Career Path
VIDEOS
GENERAL: Architecture & Construction
GENERAL: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
GENERAL: Transportation, Distribution & Logistics OR Transport
GENERAL ManufacturingCLUSTER: Architecture and construction
Careers in the architecture and construction cluster involve designing and building homes, roads, and other structures. Nearly all of the construction and extraction occupations and many of the architecture and engineering occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 7.8 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the architecture and construction cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $23,940 for landscaping and groundskeeping workers to $84,410 for construction managers. The occupation expected to have the largest number of job openings in the cluster is construction laborers.
CLUSTER: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematicsCareers in the STEM cluster involve solving problems through research and design. Many of the life, physical, and social science; architecture and engineering; and math occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 2 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $38,310 for social science research assistants to $132,320 for petroleum engineers. The occupation expected to have the most job openings in the cluster is mechanical engineers.
CLUSTER: Transportation, distribution, and logistics
Careers in this cluster involve moving people and products from one place to another. Most of the transportation and material moving occupations and some of the installation, maintenance, and repair occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 10.7 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the transportation, distribution, and logistics cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $19,500 for parking lot attendants to $121,280 for air traffic controllers. Other careers: taxi drivers and chauffeurs, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers.
CLUSTER: ManufacturingCareers in the manufacturing cluster involve making products, such as food, cars, and household goods. Nearly all of the production occupations, many of the installation, maintenance, and repair occupations such as camera and photographic equipment repairers, and some of the architecture and engineering occupations in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 11.8 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the manufacturing cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $21,490 for sewing machine operators to $78,350 for nuclear power reactor operators. BLS projects more than half of job openings in the manufacturing cluster to be in occupations assigned to the production pathway. However, the occupation expected to have the largest number of job openings is in the maintenance, installation, and repair pathway: general maintenance and repair workers.
Natural Resources/ Agriculture Professions Occupations in this career field are related to the natural sciences, food production, and agriculture. This career field includes foods, agricultural sciences, earth sciences, and horticulture. VIDEOS
GENERAL: Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources
CLUSTER: Agriculture, food, and natural resources
Careers in the agriculture, food, and natural resources cluster involve working with plants, animals, and the environment. Nearly all of the farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, nonfarm animal caretakers, animal scientists. and many of the life, physical, and social science occupations are in the OOH are assigned to this cluster. BLS counted about 1.4 million jobs in the SOC occupations that are assigned to the agriculture, food, and natural resources cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $18,710 for crop, nursery, and greenhouse farmworkers and laborers to $116,840 for natural science managers.
Many of the occupations in this cluster typically require a high school diploma or equivalent, although specific designations range from less than a high school diploma and short-term on-the-job training for nonfarm animal caretakers to a doctoral or professional degree for animal scientists.
BLS projects the largest number of job openings in the agriculture, food, and natural resources cluster to be in occupations assigned to the plant systems pathway. The occupation expected to have the most job openings in the cluster is crop, nursery, and greenhouse farmworkers and laborers
SPECIALTIES IN TRADES: WHICH CRAFT PRO ARE YOU? CRAFTSMAN TRADING CARDS
EXPLORE BY INTEREST: WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN? ADD UP YOUR INTERESTS
EXPLORE BY INTEREST, COLLEGE DEGREE, MAJOR CATEGORIES, KEY WORD: BIG FUTURE
EXPLORE BY COLLEGE DEGREE: MATCHING CAREERS TO DEGREE INTEREST HOTTEST DEGREES BY COLLEGE GRADUATES (ASSOC., BACHELOR & ABOVE)
EXPLORE CAREERS AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN NC: SKILLS, INTEREST & CLUSTER MATRIX TO FIND QUALIFICATIONS AND JOBS IN NC
JOB FUTURES: WILL YOUR JOB BE REPLACED BY A MACHINE?
OTHER GOOD VIDEO COLLECTIONS: PBS CAREER CONNECTIONS
OTHER GOOD CLUSTER INFORMATION AND VIDEOS: MY NEXT MOVE ALSO SEE BRIGHTEST OUTLOOK