Also called: Freedom of Information Act Specialist, Public Records Officer
Handles public requests for government records and decides what can be released.
Reporters, researchers, and citizens can ask for government documents under the Freedom of Information Act. FOIA officers search for records, black out private or classified information, and release the rest. It's a key part of government transparency.
Federal General Schedule (GS) pay scale, with locality pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's degree; legal or records training helps.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Political Science, Information Science, Paralegal Studies, History.
Growing about average. Approximate.
High risk for 10 years. AI can search records and suggest redactions at scale; far fewer staff needed, with legal judgment calls kept.
Classes: AP Government, English, Computer applications.
Official data: O*NET occupation 43-4199.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.