Career Clusters – The Story
Agriculture, Food, and
Natural Resources
Career Options
What do you do?
Agronomist
Study plants and soil to improve crop quality and
efficiency
$52K-$88K+
Biotechnologist
Turn living organisms into commercial products in food,
medicine, and environmental industries
$31K-$49K+
Environmental
Engineer
Solve problems related to clean drinking water, air
pollution, waste disposal, and toxic substances.
$62K-$98K+
Farmer
Growing anything from artichokes to wheat, or raising
livestock such as emu and cattle
$20K-$100K+
Petroleum Engineer
Extract oil and natural gas from the ground
$29K-$100K+
Survey Technician
Create maps
$32K-$56K+
Earning Potential
Architecture &
Construction
Career Options
What do you do?
Architect
Using artistic and math skills to design office towers,
houses, and other buildings.
$55K-$92K+
Civil Engineer
$60K-$92K+
Crane Operator
$39K-$73K+
Electrician
$53K-$81K+
Land Surveyor
$42K-$75K+
Pipefitter
$28K-$79K+
Ever wonder why tall office buildings don’t fall down
and bridges can support millions of pounds of weight?
Control the machines that lift extremely heavy or
awkward objects
Brings safe and efficient electrical power to our homes
and workplaces.
Use high-tech equipment, mathematical calculation,
and historical research to create accurate maps.
Measure, cut, weld, and install the pipe systems that
carry water, gas, air, and other materials.
Earning Potential
Arts, A/V Technology,
and Communication
Career Options
What do you do?
Animator
From SpongeBob to The Simpsons—animators have
brought them all to life.
$34K-$66K+
Art/Music Therapist
$28K-$51K+
Broadcast Technician
Using the creative power of art or music to help
people deal with physical, emotional, and
psychological problems.
Work behind the scenes at television or radio stations.
$23K-$52K+
Communication
Specialist
Help organizations explain their actions and policies
effectively to customers, clients, the public, and their
own employees.
$55K-$100K+
Director of Photography
$37K-$92K+
Think of a television or movie screen as your canvas,
and light and images as your paint.
Recording Engineer
Using studio recording equipment to capture music
and other sounds.
$30K-$57K+
Earning Potential
Business, Management,
& Administration
Career Options
What do you do?
Advertising Copywriter
$38K-$77K+
Write advertisements, or "copy," for television, radio,
billboards, newspapers, and magazines.
Certified Public
Accountant
Helping people and businesses figure out how much
they owe in taxes and preparing their financial
records.
$49K-$81K+
Entrepreneur
Tired of working for someone else? Why not start up
and run your own business!
$30K-$100K+
Forensic Accountant
Follow the money and find out who cooked the books.
$49K-$100K+
Health Care
Administrator
$63K-$109K+
Work behind the scenes to ensure that hospitals,
community care agencies, and other health-related
organizations are well run.
Retail Buyer
Are you a smart shopper with a good eye for what
sells?
$37K-$69K+
Earning Potential
Education & Training
Career Options
What do you do?
Audiologist
Combine science, communication, and special
electronic equipment to help people with hearing
impairments.
$52K-$74K+
Career Counselor
$38K-$81K+
Corporate Trainer
$37K-$68K+
Early Childhood
Educator
Helping people make one of the most important
choices of their lives.
The workplace is changing rapidly and good trainers
can do a lot to help people adapt and excel.
A lot more than babysitting.
$21K-$33K+
High School Teacher
$47K-$85K+
Helping young people learn and develop.
Principal
Managing a school to help students get a good
education.
$75K-$125K+
Earning Potential
Finance
Career Options
What do you do?
Actuary
The mathematical experts who estimate risks and
costs for insurance companies.
$67K-$113K+
Auditor
$49K-$81K+
Use your financial investigative powers to keep an eye
on the books.
Bank Manager
A lot of things go on at your local bank branch, and
it's the manager's job to oversee all of them.
$76K-$136K+
Insurance Claims
Adjuster
$42K-$73K+
An investigator who makes sure that insurance claims
are valid and then determines the right amount to be
paid out.
Money Manager
$44K-$112K+
Climb to the top of the competitive world of high
finance, directing the investment of massive sums of
money as a money manager.
Trader
High stakes gambling in the competitive world of high
finance.
$44K-$112K+
Earning Potential
Government &
Public Administration
Career Options
What do you do?
Building Inspector
Most of us take the safety and stability of our houses,
apartments, and other buildings for granted—that’s
because building inspectors are on the job.
$43K-$73K+
Economist
$67K-$121K+
Federal Agent
$35K-$95K+
Study the economy and advise governments and
businesses.
Investigating crimes and helping to preserve national
security.
Infantry (Military)
$16K-$95K+
The front line of national defense. Military salaries
vary according to rank.
Politician
Make a difference in your community, city, region, or
country.
$10K-$400K+
Statistician
$66K-$97K+
Ever wonder what statistics can tell us about the world
and how it works?
Earning Potential
Health Science
Career Options
What do you do?
Allergist
Allergists treat people who suffer from allergic
reactions like nut allergies or hay fever.
$60K-$166K+
Athletic Trainer
$38K-$55K+
Biological Tech
$31K-$49K+
Helping injured athletes return to the game and
designing training programs to keep them there.
If you like collecting samples and doing experiments
in science class, you should check this career out.
Medical
Examiner/Coroner
$100K-$250K+
Uncover the truth about untimely deaths as a coroner.
Dental Hygienist
Cleaning teeth and teaching patients dental health.
$46K-$74K+
Occupational
Therapist
Helping people with mental or physical limitations lead
independent and productive lives.
$59K-$90K+
Earning Potential
Hospitality & Tourism
Career Options
What do you do?
Chef
It takes more than just creativity and good taste to run
a kitchen.
$21K-$100K+
Curator
$39K-$90K+
Brewmaster
It takes more than just creativity and good taste to run
a kitchen.
Making good beer is both an art and a science.
$25K-$70K+
Exhibit Designer
Do you enjoy creative challenges?
$33K-$60K+
Event Planner
$36K-$65K+
Hotel Manager
$27K-$83K+
A lot of hard work and organization goes into well-run
events.
Overseeing reservations, housekeeping, restaurants,
events, and all the other things that go into running a
hotel.
Earning Potential
Human Services
Career Options
What do you do?
Abuse/Crisis Counselor
Help people in traumatic relationships to find solutions.
$20K-$50K+
Adoption Counselor
Help children find a loving home.
$36K-$67K+
Career Coach
Help people onto the path that leads to their dream job.
$38K-$81K+
Credit Counselor
$20K-$50K+
Help clients with money problems get back on their feet.
Dietitian
It's about health and nutrition, not the latest dieting
fads.
$32K-$71K+
Industrial-Organizational
Psychologist
$52K-$81K+
Using psychology to increase employee satisfaction and
productivity in the workplace.
Earning Potential
Information
Technology
Career Options
What do you do?
Bioinformatics
Specialist
Use an expert knowledge of computer science, statistics,
and biology to help other scientists analyze the vast
amounts of information their research creates.
$35K-$100K+
Computer Animator
Harnessing the power of computers to make artistic
designs, special effects, and 3D models.
$30K-$150K+
Database Developer
Making it easier for people to find and organize
information.
$54K-$94K+
Desktop Publisher
$22K-$59K+
Using computer technology to design, write, edit, and lay
out everything from business cards to posters and
booklets.
Multimedia Developer
Help make programs like the one you are using now.
$30K-$120K+
Video Game Developer
$45K-$90K+
Programmers, animators, graphic artists, writers, and
testers all work together to create the video games you
play.
Earning Potential
Law, Public Safety, Corrections
& Security Information
Technology
Career Options
What do you do?
Bailiff
Keeping courtrooms safe and secure.
$18K-$66K+
Coast Guard
Does the adventure and challenge of working at sea
appeal to you?
$32K-$100K+
Correctional Officer
Maintaining order and security at prisons and helping
inmates choose a better life.
$25K-$65K+
Crime Scene Investigator
$60K-$93K+
Help solve crimes by documenting and collecting
evidence at crime scenes.
Fire Fighter
You spend a lot of time training and practicing, and when
the bell rings you have to be ready for anything.
$27K-$73K+
Police Officer
Discouraging crime and upholding the law.
$52K-$81K+
Earning Potential
Manufacturing
Career Options
What do you do?
Clothing Manufacturer
The business of making dresses, pants, shirts, and other
garments.
$35K-$80K+
Environmental
Engineer
$62K-$98K+
Industrial Designer
Use your math and science skills to help solve problems
related to clean drinking water, air pollution, waste
disposal, and toxic substances.
Designing products that work well and look good.
$31K-$63K+
Logistics Specialist
$49K-$86K+
Help businesses figure out the most efficient ways to do
things.
Quality Controller
”The buck stops here!” Making sure products are made
properly and safely.
$40K-$100K+
Stationary Engineer
$56K-$77K+
Run and monitor the machines that provide power, heat,
and refrigeration for buildings and manufacturing
facilities.
Earning Potential
Marketing, Sales, &
Services
Career Options
What do you do?
Advertising Copywriter
Write advertisements, or "copy," for television, radio,
billboards, newspapers, and magazines.
$35K-$77K+
Fashion Retailer
You get to buy and sell thousands of dollars of clothes
and accessories!
$15K-$60K+
Fundraiser
Raising money for charities, hospitals, and other worthy
causes is an important business.
$30K-$120K+
Market Research Analyst
$30K-$77K+
Study (and try to predict) social, political, and economic
trends—like divorce rates, voting patterns, and
automobile sales.
Media Buyer
Buying print and online advertising space, and “spots” on
radio and television, so that ads reach the right
audience.
$43K-$74K+
Sales Representative
$25K-$200K+
It’s one of the most people-oriented careers in the
business world.
Earning Potential
Science, Technology,
Engineering, & Math
Career Options
What do you do?
Biomedical Engineer
Use high tech engineering to develop medical equipment
like CAT scanners, pacemakers, and artificial joints and
organs.
$60K-$100K+
Food Scientist
$41K-$67K+
GIS Specialist
Take one part chemistry, one part biology, then mix with
a passion for food.
A combination of geography and computers.
$33K-$68K+
Meteorologist
$59K-$101K+
Use satellites, radar, and sophisticated computers to
study and predict the weather.
Solar Energy Tech
Help people reduce their energy bills and protect the
environment by using sunshine to power their homes
and businesses.
$36K-$66K+
Toxicologist
$25K-$100K+
Help protect people, animals, and the environment from
the harmful effects of toxic substances.
Earning Potential
Transportation,
Distribution, & Logistics
Career Options
What do you do?
Air Traffic Controller
Tens of thousands of flights are made every day, and air
traffic controllers help make sure they arrive safely.
$47K-$145K+
Automotive Service
Technician
$26K-$50K+
Do you love cars and enjoy figuring out how they work?
Avionics Tech
Testing, maintaining, and repairing the electronic
equipment that modern aircraft rely upon.
$34K-$65K+
Diesel Technician
$25K-$57K+
Maintain and repair trucks, buses, bulldozers,
generators, and many other kinds of diesel-powered
equipment.
Operations Research
Analyst
$55K-$91K+
Using math and computers to help businesses and other
organizations work more efficiently.
Transportation Inspector
$33K-$85K+
Help keep our transportation systems safe by inspecting
trucks, trains, planes, and boats.
Earning Potential