How to Research a Career Before You Commit: Jobs, Salary, Skills and Outlook

Once you have a clearer understanding of your interests, strengths, skills, values, and circumstances, the next step is to research the careers that appear to fit.

This is where career planning becomes more than self-reflection.

You may feel that a particular career sounds interesting, matches your personality, or offers an attractive salary. But before investing years of education, training, or work experience into that direction, you need to understand what the career actually looks like in the real world.

A good career investigation should answer questions such as:

• What do people in this occupation actually do?
• What skills are required?
• What education or training is normally expected?
• Is a license or certification required?
• How much do workers typically earn?
• What is the employment outlook?
• Where are the jobs located?
• What industries employ these workers?
• What does career progression look like?
• What related occupations could you move into later?
• Does the day-to-day work actually suit you?

The goal isn’t to find a website that tells you whether a career is “good.”

The goal is to collect enough reliable information to make your own informed judgment.

Start With the Occupation, Not the Job Advertisement

One of the most common mistakes people make when researching careers is starting with individual job advertisements. Job postings can tell you what a particular employer wants, but they don’t necessarily provide a complete picture of the occupation.

A better starting point is the occupation itself.

For U.S. readers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook provides standardized profiles covering hundreds of occupations. Its profiles typically include what workers do, work environment, education and training, pay, job outlook, state and area data, similar occupations, and additional sources of information.

This gives you a broader picture before you start evaluating individual employers.

For example, instead of searching only for:

“Software developer jobs”

you might first research:

“What does a software developer actually do?”

Then investigate:

“What education and skills are normally required?”

Then:

“What is the employment outlook?”

And finally:

“What employers are hiring software developers in the locations where I want to work?”

That sequence gives you much more context than simply scrolling through job advertisements.

1. Understand What You Would Actually Do

A job title can sound appealing without telling you whether you would enjoy the work. Before pursuing an occupation, read beyond the title and investigate the actual duties.

Ask:

• What tasks occupy most of the working day?
• Who do workers interact with?
• What tools or software do they use?
• What problems are they expected to solve?
• How much independent decision-making is involved?
• What responsibilities increase with experience?

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook’s “What They Do” section describes typical duties, responsibilities, tools, software, equipment, and interactions associated with occupations.

This distinction is important.

You may like the idea of “working in technology,” for example, but technology contains dozens of very different occupations.

A software developer, cybersecurity analyst, technical writer, IT support specialist, data analyst, UX designer, and technology project manager can all work within the technology sector while performing very different kinds of work.

Research the work itself—not just the industry or job title.

2. Investigate the Work Environment

The same occupation can feel very different depending on where and how the work is performed.

Find out whether the career typically involves:

• Office work
• Remote or hybrid work
• Field work
• Physical activity
• Customer interaction
• Team-based projects
• Independent work
• Travel
• Shift work
• Irregular schedules
• High-pressure situations

The BLS includes information about workplace settings, physical activity, typical hours, industries, travel, part-time opportunities, and other working conditions within its occupational profiles.

This matters because a career can look attractive on paper while being poorly suited to your preferred lifestyle.

Someone who values predictable working hours may feel very differently about a career involving rotating shifts than someone who enjoys flexible or irregular schedules.

Likewise, someone who prefers working independently may not enjoy an occupation built around constant client or team interaction.

Don’t just ask whether you can do the work. Ask whether you would want to do it repeatedly.

3. Find Out What It Takes to Enter the Career

One of the most important questions to answer before committing to a career is:

What does it actually take to become employable in this occupation?

The answer may include:

• A high school qualification
• College or university education
• Vocational training
• Apprenticeship
• Professional certification
• Licensing
• Registration
• Work experience
• On-the-job training
• A portfolio
• Industry-specific skills

The requirements vary considerably between occupations.

The BLS identifies typical entry-level education, related work experience, on-the-job training, licenses, certifications, registrations, and other relevant preparation in its occupation profiles.

This distinction is particularly important when evaluating online courses and certifications.

A course provider may advertise a certificate as a pathway into a particular career, but that does not necessarily mean the certificate is required—or that completing it alone will make you competitive for employment.

Research the occupation first. Then decide what education or training you actually need.

4. Separate “Required” From “Preferred”

Career information can become confusing because employers may distinguish between qualifications that are mandatory and those that are simply preferred.

For example, an occupation might legally require a license, while a particular employer may merely prefer candidates who have a specific certification.

Those are very different situations.

When researching a career, separate requirements into three categories:

Required

Something you must have to legally enter or perform the occupation, where applicable.

Typically expected

A qualification, skill, or experience commonly associated with entry into the occupation.

Preferred

Something that may strengthen your application but isn’t necessarily required.

This distinction can prevent you from spending money and time obtaining credentials that don’t provide the value you expected.

5. Research the Skills Employers Need

A career title tells you what the occupation is called.

Skills tell you what makes you employable within it.

Create a list of the technical and transferable skills associated with the career. For example, a particular occupation might require a combination of:

Technical skills

• Data analysis
• Programming
• Accounting
• Graphic design
• Spreadsheet modelling
• Project-management software

and:

Transferable skills

• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Organization
• Teamwork
• Critical thinking
• Adaptability

The BLS occupation profiles include “important qualities” that can help workers perform particular occupations, alongside formal education, training, and other requirements.

Don’t simply copy a list of skills from one source, however. Compare several job advertisements from reputable employers and look for patterns.

If the same skill repeatedly appears across employers, it may deserve greater attention in your development plan. This is one reason career research should connect directly with our Skills & Certifications pillar at CareerWorkGuide.

Once you identify a target career, you should be able to work backwards:

Career → Target Role → Required Skills → Skill Gaps → Learning Plan → Experience → Job Search

6. Research Salary Carefully

Salary information is useful—but it is one of the easiest areas to misunderstand. Don’t base your expectations on a single salary figure found in a blog post or social-media video.

Look at:

• Median pay
• Entry-level pay
• Experienced-worker pay
• Geographic differences
• Industry differences
• Hourly versus annual compensation
• Bonuses
• Commissions
• Benefits
• Self-employment considerations

For example, the BLS defines median pay as the point at which half of workers earn more and half earn less. Its occupational profiles also explain that earnings can vary based on experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area.

That means a career with a reported median salary of $90,000 does not mean every worker entering that occupation will immediately earn $90,000.

Look at the distribution and the factors that influence earnings.

For U.S. research, CareerWorkGuide can use BLS wage data as the primary reference point rather than repeating salary figures from secondary career websites.

For Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia’s occupation and industry profiles provide occupation-level information using Australian labour-market data, including earnings information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Treat salary as one part of the career decision—not the entire decision.

7. Examine the Job Outlook

A career can be attractive today without necessarily offering the same opportunities several years from now.

That’s why you should examine employment projections.

For U.S. occupations, the BLS provides projected employment growth, projected employment change, and information about factors affecting occupational growth or decline. Its current Occupational Outlook Handbook projections cover the 2024–2034 period.

But projections require careful interpretation.

A projected growth rate is not a guarantee that you will find employment.

Likewise, an occupation with relatively slow growth may still generate substantial opportunities because employers need to replace workers who leave the occupation.

This is why you should examine both:

Projected growth

and

Projected openings or employment change.

The BLS Occupation Finder allows readers to compare occupations using projected new jobs, projected growth rate, education, training, and median pay.

For Australian readers, Jobs and Skills Australia’s employment projections provide information by industry, occupation, and state or territory. JSA explicitly cautions that its projections are based on assumptions and should be viewed as indicators of potential future trends rather than precise predictions.

That’s an important principle for all career research:

A projection is evidence about a possible future—not a promise about your individual future.

8. Look Beyond National Averages

A national employment outlook can hide significant geographic differences. An occupation may have strong demand nationally but relatively few opportunities in your preferred location.

When researching a career, investigate:

• Cities with high employment
• States or provinces with strong demand
• Rural versus urban opportunities
• Major employing industries
• Remote-work possibilities
• Relocation requirements

The BLS provides state and area occupational data alongside its national occupation information, allowing users to investigate geographic differences.

Australia provides another useful example. Jobs and Skills Australia’s projections include state and territory outlooks, reflecting differences in population and industry composition across locations.

For CareerWorkGuide’s international audience, this is particularly important.

A career decision should ideally answer two questions:

Is this occupation promising?

and

Where are the opportunities?

9. Investigate Career Progression

Don’t stop researching at the entry-level position. Find out what typically happens after the first few years.

Ask:

• What is the next position?
• Which skills lead to promotion?
• Can you specialize?
• Can you move into management?
• Can you become a consultant?
• Can you work independently?
• Can the skills transfer into another occupation?
• Are there related careers with similar requirements?

The BLS includes “Similar Occupations” in its profiles, identifying occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training.

That information can reveal opportunities you might otherwise overlook.

For example, you might initially be interested in one occupation but discover that a closely related role offers a better combination of compensation, flexibility, growth, or personal fit.

Your career research should identify options—not trap you inside one job title.

10. Research the Industry Behind the Occupation

An occupation doesn’t exist in isolation. People with the same occupational skills can work in completely different industries.

For example, an accountant might work in:

• Financial services
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Manufacturing
• Government
• Education
• Professional services

Similarly, a software professional might work in:

• Banking
• Healthcare
• Retail
• Government
• Media
• Education
• Technology

This matters because compensation, working conditions, advancement opportunities, and demand can vary between industries.

When researching a career, therefore, ask:

Which industries employ people in this occupation, and which industries appear to offer the strongest opportunities?

This can give you more career flexibility than focusing on a single job title.

11. Talk to People Who Actually Do the Work

Government statistics can tell you a great deal. But they cannot tell you everything.

One of the best ways to test your assumptions is to speak with people who currently work in the occupation.

Ask questions such as:

• What does a normal workday look like?
• What surprised you after entering the field?
• Which skills matter most?
• What do beginners usually struggle with?
• What would you learn first if you were starting again?
• What do you wish you had known before entering?
• What does career progression actually look like?
• What part of the job do you enjoy least?

You don’t need to treat one person’s experience as universal.

Instead, speak with several people and look for recurring patterns.

Statistics tell you what the market looks like. Experience helps you understand what the work feels like.

You need both.

12. Test the Career Before Making a Major Investment

Research shouldn’t remain theoretical. Whenever possible, test the career on a small scale before making a major commitment.

You could:

• Take an introductory course
• Complete a practical project
• Volunteer
• Shadow someone
• Try freelance work
• Attend an industry event
• Join a professional community
• Build a portfolio project
• Take an entry-level assignment
• Speak with professionals

For example, someone considering data analysis could complete a small data project using publicly available information.

Someone considering digital marketing could create and analyze a small campaign.

Someone considering software development could build a simple application.

Someone considering project management could volunteer to coordinate a real project.

The objective is not to become an expert immediately. It is to answer:

Do I actually enjoy doing this type of work?

That answer can be more valuable than another hour of reading about the career.

13. Build a Career Research Scorecard

After researching several options, put the information in one place.

You can use a simple CareerWorkGuide scorecard:

Don’t treat the final score as an objective scientific answer. The purpose is to expose your assumptions.

If one career scores poorly because you lack a particular skill, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should eliminate it.

It might mean:

That’s my skill gap. How difficult would it be to close it?

That turns the scorecard from a selection tool into a planning tool.

14. Use Multiple Sources Instead of Trusting One Website

No single career website should be your only source of information. For important decisions, compare information from:

Government labour-market sources

For employment, wages, occupational requirements, and projections.

Professional associations – For industry standards, professional development, and occupation-specific information.

Employers – For current skills and hiring expectations.

Workers – For first-hand experience.

Educational institutions – For legitimate training pathways and program requirements.

Job advertisements – For current employer expectations and commonly requested skills.

This approach is much stronger than relying on a single article that claims a particular career is “the best.”

A Career Research Checklist

Before committing significant time or money to a career, you should ideally be able to answer these questions:

The Work

• What would I actually do?
• What does a typical workday involve?

The Requirements

• What education or training is normally required?
• Is licensing or certification necessary?
• What experience is expected?

The Skills

• What technical skills matter?
• What transferable skills matter?
• Which skills do I already have?
• Which skills do I need to develop?

The Money

• What do workers typically earn?
• How does compensation vary by experience, industry, and location?

The Market

• Is employment growing, stable, or declining?
• How many opportunities are projected?
• Where are the jobs?

The Lifestyle

• What are the hours?
• Is remote or hybrid work possible?
• Is travel common?
• What are the working conditions?

The Future

• What can I progress into?
• What related occupations could I move into?
• Will the skills remain useful if my career direction changes?

If you cannot answer most of these questions, you’re probably not finished researching.

The CareerWorkGuide Rule: Research Before You Invest

Career decisions can involve significant investments of time and money.

That is why we recommend a simple rule:

Research the occupation → verify the requirements → examine the market → understand the work → test your interest → then decide how much to invest.

This sequence can help you avoid one of the most expensive career mistakes: committing heavily to a path before understanding what you’re actually committing to.

And remember that labour-market information changes.

The BLS regularly updates its occupational information and employment projections, while Jobs and Skills Australia updates its labour-market datasets and projections as new information becomes available.

So career research shouldn’t be something you do once and forget.

Treat it as an ongoing professional habit.

The better you understand your chosen field, the better positioned you are to recognize opportunities, identify skill gaps, evaluate job offers, and make informed career moves.

And once you’ve researched where you want to go, the next question becomes much more practical:

What skills and qualifications do you need to get there?

That brings us to the next stage of building a career: developing the skills that make you employable and valuable in the market.

Coming next:

How to Build the Skills You Need for Your Career