Employment and wages for the largest occupations for the detail oriented

Do you pay attention to all the particulars at work? Is no detail too fine to escape your notice? If so, you may be interested in an occupation for people who like to sweat the small stuff. The job duties, wages, typical education required for entry, and job outlook for these occupations vary widely, but being detail oriented is especially important for all of them, according to new BLS skills data.

Registered nurses was one of the largest occupations for the detail oriented, with employment of nearly 3.2 million in May 2023. The largest occupations for the detail oriented also included heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (2.0 million), accountants and auditors (1.4 million), and security guards (1.2 million).

Lawyers ($176,470), industrial engineers ($103,150), registered nurses ($94,480), and accountants and auditors ($90,780) were the highest paying among the largest detail-oriented occupations. These four occupations all had annual mean wages above the U.S. average of $65,470 in May 2023. Lower paying occupations for the detail oriented included tellers ($38,850), security guards ($40,440), pharmacy technicians ($43,330), and medical assistants ($43,350).

Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow by 15.0 percent from 2023 to 2033, much faster than the average of 4.0 percent for all occupations. It is projected that employment of industrial engineers (12.2 percent) and electricians (10.8 percent) will also grow much faster than the average. Employment of security guards is projected to have slower-than-average growth (2.2 percent) over the 2023–33 projections period, and employment of correctional officers and jailers (−6.7 percent) and tellers (−14.7 percent) is expected to decline. However, openings within these occupations are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Half of the largest occupations for the detail oriented typically require a high school diploma or the equivalent for entry, including electricians, pharmacy technicians, and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers. An additional four occupations, including medical assistants and heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, typically require a postsecondary nondegree award, such as a certificate, for entry. Most of the remaining occupations typically require a bachelor’s degree, including industrial engineers and registered nurses.

This TED highlights the largest occupations, based on May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, for which the importance of being detail oriented is at the 75^th percentile or higher, according to new skills data from the Employment Projections program. For more information, see “A new data product for occupational skills: methodology, analysis, and a guide to using the employment projections skills data.” Employment and wage estimates are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, and typical entry-level educational requirements and projected employment change over the 2023–33 decade are from Employment Projections.