9 Finding Real-World Job Data
Cascadia College COLL101 Team
Introduction
It’s one thing to say, “I think I want to be a graphic designer.” It’s another thing to know what that job actually pays, where it’s in demand, or whether you’ll need a master’s degree.
This chapter will help you find real-world data about careers, including salary information, job growth, educational requirements, and more. This chapter is useful for College 101 students completing the Industry Deep-Dive Career exploration activity. You will need to find job outlook data and wage information to complete that activity. This chapter guides you through this type of research.
Types of Data to Look For
These are the four major data categories when researching a job:
|
Category |
What to Ask or Consider |
|
Salary |
What’s the average starting pay? How does it change with experience? |
|
Job Outlook |
Is this field growing, shrinking, or stable? |
|
Education & Training |
What level of education is typical? Will I need certifications? |
|
Daily Work & Skills |
What would I actually do day-to-day? What skills should I build now? |
Getting Started with Career Planner
As a Cascadia College student, you have access to Career Planner, a powerful tool for exploring careers and connecting them to your real life goals. Check out this chapter to learn how to login to Career Planner.
Reality Check:
One especially helpful feature of Career Planner? Reality Check.
Reality Check helps you figure out what kind of lifestyle you can afford based on where you want to live and how much you expect to spend. Once you enter your estimated monthly expenses, like rent, food, transportation and more, Career Planner will show you a list of careers that can support that lifestyle.
💡Pro Tip:
The Reality Check to is calibrated for Washington State, so it’s a great tool if you’re planning to live locally. If you’re looking for jobs in other states or regions, check out the national resources listed below.
To get started, login to Career Planner and select Reality Check from the left navigation bar. The video below [1:53] walks you through using Reality Check.
Career Search
Once you have a general idea of your interests, it can be helpful to learn more about specific careers—what they pay, what kind of education they require, and whether they’re in demand.
Career Planner’s Career Search tool lets you explore detailed job data across hundreds of fields. Whether you’re researching potential pathways or checking if your dream job can actually pay the rent, this tool is a great place to start.
The short video below will walk you through how to use Career Search to find:
- Job summaries and duties
- Wage information by state and experience level
- Job outlook and projected growth
To get started, login to Career Planner and select Career Search from the left navigation bar. The video below [2:12] introduces you to the Career Search features.
National Job Data
Career Planner pulls its data from the national sources like the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*Net, which means you’re already getting reliable, research-backed information when you use the tool. But if you want to explore these sources directly to dig deeper into trends, look at national vs. Local comparisons, or browse more niche job categories, here’s how to do that.
CareerOneStop
CareerOneStop is like a dashboard for career planning. You can:
- Explore wages by state or zip code
- See employment trends
- Find training data and certification programs
- Browse job descriptions and education paths
Try the “Compare Occupations” tool to see job data for multiple different roles.
O*Net Online
O*NET breaks down the skills, tasks, and knowledge areas associated with thousands of jobs. It’s perfect if you want to understand:
- What people actually do in a role
- What skills or tools they regularly use
- How your strengths match up with different careers and fields
Use the “Skills Search” if you’re not sure what job fits you yet, but you know what you’re good at.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is the go-to resource for big-picture job data. Career Planner pulls data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but with this resource you can find job data from across the United States. You can find:
- Median salaries
- Projected job growth
- Education and training requirements
- Typical working conditions
This tool is great for investigating whether a field is growing or shrinking before you commit – but keep in mind that a lot of this data is replicated in the resources above!
Wrapping Up
Knowing what jobs actually look like—what they pay, how they grow, and what they require—can help you make smart, confident decisions about your next steps. Whether you’re choosing a major, exploring a new pathway, or just getting curious, it’s worth taking the time to dig into the data.
And remember, it’s totally okay to look up a job and think, “Nope, not for me.” That’s still progress. Every step helps you get closer to a field that genuinely interests you—and that’s a solid foundation for whatever comes next.
