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Introduction to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)

The 12,000 Jobs Described in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles

Once upon a time, the U.S. Department of Labor maintained a database of detailed information on 12,741 job titles. That was back in the days before personal computers were everywhere, so details of these jobs were printed in a book, made of paper, titled the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). But, over the years, our economy changed so much that the entire DOT system became obsolete and was replaced by a new system called the Occupational Information Network, or O*NET, which is presented elsewhere in CareerOINK. The last edition of the DOT was published in 1991, and there are no plans to revise it.

If you need detailed information about the DOT and its coding structure, click "More Info" below. If you'd like tips to help you use the information in the DOT descriptions, click "Put the DOT to Work for You".

More Info          Put the DOT to Work for You

Reasons NOT to Use the DOT for Exploring Career and Learning Options (Basically, it's because the DOT is difficult to use, but click here for more details)

"Complex" Directions to Use This Part of CareerOINK

If you still insist on getting to the DOT job descriptions from here, this is how it works:

  1. Click your mouse on the DOT book cover below. Then, begin narrowing your search by clicking on occupational groups in each list displayed, until eventually, you get a list of job titles. In most cases, there will be 4 levels of groups and subgroups. Just keep clicking on things that interest you until you get to Level 4's list of job titles.
  2. In this list, click on a job title that interests you, and CareerOINK will take you directly to the DOT description for that job. At the end of the DOT description, you may find a list of related O*NET titles that you can click on to get more information. Easy.

Actually, the DOT descriptions are not that bad once you get the hang of how they work. They are packed with useful information, and some of the job titles may even entertain you (like my favorites, Oyster Shucker and Chick Sexer). But you will need to read the information on the DOT codes to fully understand the DOT descriptions. You can learn more about these codes by clicking the Help button on this page and reading the "More Information on DOT" section.

Click the book cover below to begin using the DOT section of CareerOINK.