Be sure to write down the exact web site and the name of the chart where you find each answer. You will need to cite your sources. Many of these pages have suggested citations at the bottom of the chart or the bottom of the page.

Questions 1-5

Department of Labor – Women’s Bureau:  http://www.dol.gov/wb/

• Click on “Data & Statistics”

1. Leading occupations for women 

2. Highest-paying occupations for women

3. Non-traditional occupations

4. Earnings ratio (click on line chart to see more details)

5. In-demand occupations

Questions 6-10

Bureau of Labor Statistics – Annual Report: Highlights of Women’s Earnings

• www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm > Earnings by Demographics > Annual Report: Highlights of Women’s Earnings

• Select most current year

• Open the PDF

• Also note the charts immediately below the report (see question 13 on the worksheet). Scroll through the whole Earnings by Demographics page to see even more charts.

6. Table 1 will have median weekly earnings for both sexes (combined), women, and men

7, 8, 9, 10. Use CTRL F to open a small blue search box

• Search for your occupation

• If you can’t find your occupation, try alternate words, e.g. physician instead of surgeon

• Number of workers is in thousands. This means you need to add three zeros to the number, e.g. 1,004 chief executives is really 1,004,000 chief executives.

• Note that women’s and men’s numbers are on different pages.

Questions 11-12

www.bls.gov > Career Information > Occupational Outlook Handbook

• Open the Occupational Outlook Handbook

• Search for your occupation in the search box in the top gray bar – “Search Handbook”

• First result in the list is usually the correct one

• Explore all the tabs – you’ll need information from almost every page for your report

  • Summary

  • What They Do

  • Work Environment

  • How to Become One

  • Pay

  • Job Outlook

  • Similar Occupations

  • More Info

More helpful information

Salaries by state, plus bottom 10% (new workers) salary to 90% (top earners): http://www.bls.gov/oes > SEARCH OES (on left side of page)

Job Market for Recent College Graduates:  http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130405.htm

Women at Work 2011: http://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2011/women/