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Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, OEWS: employment and wages in occupations of Survivor winners
June 27, 2025
The American reality show Survivor recently crowned the winner of its 48th season. Winning requires strategy to outwit, physical strength to outplay, and survival skills to outlast all the other contestants. These traits can also be useful on the job. Let’s take a look at Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for the most common occupations of Survivor winners.
Management was the most common occupational group among Survivor winners, with eight winners. Protective service occupations were the second most common occupational group for Survivor winners—three winners were police and sheriff’s patrol officers and two were firefighters.
Employment and number of Survivor winners employed in selected major occupational groups, Seasons 1–48
Occupational group
Employment (May 2024)
Number of Survivor winners
Office and administrative support
18,218,070
4
Transportation and material moving
13,645,620
1
Food preparation and serving related
13,613,490
1
Sales and related
13,351,680
4
Management
10,966,830
8
Business and financial operations
10,351,440
4
Healthcare practitioners and technical
9,592,690
2
Educational instruction and library
8,947,710
2
Healthcare support
7,448,010
1
Construction and extraction
6,361,720
3
Protective service
3,654,910
5
Personal care and service
3,159,940
2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media
2,098,690
3
Legal
1,273,410
2
Farming, fishing, and forestry
442,050
1
Note: Students and military personnel are not included in the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data. Five Survivor winners fell into these categories.
Many Survivor winners worked in some of the largest occupational groups. Four winners were employed in office and administrative support occupations, which had employment of over 18 million in May 2024. Nearly half, or 22 of the 48 winners, were in an occupational group with over 10 million jobs.
The winner of Survivor typically receives $1 million, but the most common occupational group for Survivor winners is already among the highest paid. In May 2024, the annual mean wage for management occupations was $141,760, higher than the average of $67,920 per year for all occupations. The average wage for protective service occupations was $61,000 per year.
Annual mean wage of selected major occupational groups, May 2024
Occupational group
Annual mean wage (in dollars)
Management
141,760
Legal
137,680
Healthcare practitioners and technical
105,220
Business and financial operations
93,680
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media
77,040
Educational instruction and library
65,900
Construction and extraction
63,920
Protective service
61,000
Sales and related
54,070
Office and administrative support
50,160
Transportation and material moving
48,750
Farming, fishing, and forestry
41,730
Healthcare support
39,650
Personal care and service
39,410
Food preparation and serving related
36,020
Occupational employment and wage data are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. For the latest OEWS release and more information, see “Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2024.” Five of the 48 winners—4 students and 1 in the military—are not included in this analysis because students and military personnel are not included in the OEWS survey.
United States Department of Labor
