Frequently Asked Questions About CareerOINK

Click any of the questions below for more information.

What is CareerOINK?

What are CareerOINK's features and benefits?

What are the different ways to use CareerOINK?

Where does the information in CareerOINK come from?

What do all these abbreviations (O*NET, DOT, OOH, and GOE) mean?

How does each information source differ?

What version of the O*NET is used?

How often will CareerOINK be updated?

What is CareerOINK?

CareerOINK is a silly name, yes, but it stands for "Career Occupational INformation Kingdom," and it is THE place to "root around" for tons of information on jobs. In fact, CareerOINK has more occupational information in one place, in an easy-to-use format, than any other source in the known universe.

What are CareerOINK's features and benefits?

CareerOINK provides descriptions and other information for about 14,000 job titles, covering almost 100 percent of the U.S. workforce.

While 14,000 job titles sounds complicated, we've made it pretty easy to use. You can, for example, easily go from general to more specific career fields, or search by job title, by training opportunities, and by other criteria. And, since each description is cross-referenced to others, you can quickly go from one to any another.

CareerOINK includes many carefully crafted job descriptions that highlight key information such as education, earnings, expected openings, required skills, and other key data for fast reference.

What are the different ways to use CareerOINK?

Here are just a few of the most popular CareerOINK uses:

Career changers and students can explore career and learning options.
Job seekers can prepare for interviews by identifying key skills to emphasize—and to prepare superior resumes.
Educators can help students build strong career foundations, by sharing CareerOINK's job training and education information and by introducing pupils to work that suits their personalities and values.
Employers and human resources personnel can model job descriptions and employee interviews on the work activities and abilities outlined in CareerOINK.
Counselors can use CareerOINK's many useful features to guide clients in making better career, learning, and job search decisions.

Where does the information in CareerOINK come from?

Most of the information in CareerOINK is based on information obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor and other government sources. These sources are the most reliable, accurate, and up-to-date sources of occupational information. We spend a lot of time, though, making the raw data and information easier to understand and use.

What do all these abbreviations (O*NET, DOT, OOH, and GOE) mean?

The O*NET is the Occupational Information Network, a database of information on about 1,000 jobs; this database is maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor. CareerOINK uses the O*NET data to create useful descriptions for each of the O*NET jobs.

The DOT is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, a book published by the Labor Department that provides detailed information on 12,741 job titles.

The OOH is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a book published by the Labor Department that describes 270 major jobs, employing more than 90% of the U.S. workforce.

The GOE is the Guide for Occupational Exploration, which was originally published by the Labor Department. The GOE's latest edition, published by JIST, arranges all jobs into 14 Interest Areas and then into more specific Work Groups. The GOE organizes all jobs from the O*NET, DOT, and OOH into these groups, making it very easy to find jobs based on interests.

How does each information source differ?

Considered by many to be the most helpful of all career references, the OOH is a good place to start if you want to explore career, job, or learning options because it describes a manageable 270 major jobs.

The GOE provides a fast and intuitive way to identify jobs based on what interests you. Start by reviewing the 14 career "Interest Areas", then drill down through each area's related Work Groups for useful information on what jobs in that field involve—and for descriptions of specific jobs.

The O*NET describes about 1,000 jobs, all arranged into logical groupings. It is pretty easy to use, and the job descriptions we provide are packed with useful information.

The DOT's system was never designed to assist in career exploration and is a bit difficult to use and understand. But it is a "classic" among career information resources and its more- than-12,000 job descriptions form a rich index of highly specialized jobs that is not available in any other source.

What version of the O*NET is used?

The O*NET descriptions we use in this version of CareerOINK are based on the O*NET data, version 3.

How often will CareerOINK be updated?

We plan to update CareerOINK on a regular basis. Most occupational information is updated on a two- year cycle by the government, but we plan to continually update and improve the website whenever new occupational data becomes available.

A Division of EMC/Paradigm Publishing.