Workforce & Career Services

Helping people figure out what work fits them, get trained, land jobs, and bounce back after layoffs — from high school career counselors to job-training program leaders.

Top pay: highest pay, longest training

• Workforce Development Board Executive Director: Leads a regional agency that funds job training and runs American Job Centers. Typical pay $125k.
• Executive Outplacement Consultant: Coaches executives and professionals who've been laid off as they find their next job. Typical pay $110k.

Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship

• University Career Services Director: Runs a college's career center — advising, internships, and employer recruiting. Typical pay $105k.
• Career Counselor: Helps people choose careers, explore options, and plan the training to get there. Typical pay $65k.
• Career Coach (Self-Employed): Runs a coaching business helping clients find jobs, switch careers, or get promoted. Typical pay $65k.
• Workforce Development Specialist: Designs and runs job-training programs that connect people to growing industries. Typical pay $60k.
• Apprenticeship Program Coordinator: Builds and runs apprenticeship programs where people earn money while learning a skilled trade or profession. Typical pay $62k.
• Vocational Evaluator: Tests people's skills and abilities to figure out what jobs they can do, sometimes testifying in disability court cases. Typical pay $65k.
• Veterans Employment Representative: Helps veterans translate military skills into civilian jobs. Typical pay $55k.
• Labor Market Information Analyst: Studies job data to show which careers are growing, what they pay, and what skills employers want. Typical pay $72k.
• Rapid Response Coordinator: Arrives when a company announces layoffs to help workers find new jobs and training quickly. Typical pay $62k.
• Workforce Business Services Representative: Works with local employers to fill jobs using job centers, apprenticeships, and training grants. Typical pay $58k.
• Neurodiversity Hiring Program Manager: Runs a company program that recruits and supports autistic and other neurodivergent people for jobs, redesigning interviews and training managers. Typical pay $105k.

Starter: fastest way in

• Academic Advisor: Helps college students choose classes, stay on track to graduate, and plan for the future. Typical pay $50k.
• College Admissions Counselor: Recruits students to a college and reads their applications. Typical pay $48k.
• Job Developer: Finds employers willing to hire people from training or social service programs. Typical pay $45k.
• American Job Center Employment Specialist: Helps job seekers at a public employment office with job searches, resumes, and training funds. Typical pay $47k.
• Job Corps Career Technical Instructor: Teaches a trade — like carpentry, culinary arts, or medical assisting — to young adults at a residential Job Corps center. Typical pay $48k.
• Youth Employment Coordinator: Places teens and young adults in summer and first jobs and coaches them through it. Typical pay $43k.
• Professional Résumé Writer: Writes résumés, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles for job seekers. Typical pay $48k.
• Unemployment Insurance Claims Specialist: Decides whether people who lost their jobs qualify for unemployment benefits. Typical pay $50k.
• Older Worker Program Coordinator (SCSEP): Helps low-income adults over 55 get paid job training at nonprofits and then land regular jobs, through a federal program called SCSEP. Typical pay $48k.

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.