The average job required 1,021 days of prior work experience in 2022

National Tongue Twister Day fell on November 12^th, which means it’s time to toast all tongue twisters that can make us trip over any turn of phrase. Using data on requirements for previous experience and on-the-job training, perhaps we can ponder the proclamation: If practice makes perfect and perfect needs practice, I’m perfectly practiced and practically perfect. Prior work experience and on-the-job training requirements readily reveal the rehearsals and research needed for the realization of rampant success.

Prior work experience was required for 47.5 percent of workers and on-the-job training was required for 79.0 percent. On average in 2022, workers were required to have 1,021 days of previous experience. Prior work experience required for management occupations was an average of 1,996 days, while community and social services occupations required 723 days.

On-the-job training refers to the minimum amount of training time required after a worker has been hired. It includes time spent shadowing another worker and time spent in classes or demonstrations. Architecture and engineering occupations required 81 hours of training, while educational instruction and library occupations averaged 17 hours.

This data is from the Occupational Requirements Survey. For additional information on specific occupations, see the Occupational Profiles or to view all ORS data, download the complete dataset. All estimates in this article have been rounded to the nearest whole day or hour.