Occupations: A

The letter "A" in the BLS Standard Occupational Classification catalog covers 59 distinct occupations, spread across every major occupational group from management and engineering through healthcare, education, food service, and protective services. This page shows 50 of those 59 occupations (page 1 of 2), sorted by occupation name. Combined U.S. employment across the occupations visible on this page reaches approximately 3,943,200 workers based on BLS OEWS May 2025 totals.

Pay inside this letter-group varies dramatically: occupations on this page span from $32,150 at the low end to $391,490 at the top, roughly a 12.2× spread, with an arithmetic average of $88,559. That range is typical of alphabetical browse pages: the BLS SOC catalog groups occupations by first-letter spelling rather than economic similarity, so a single letter can contain both six-figure specialties and entry-level service roles side by side. Use the sort selector to reorder the list by highest salary (to see ceiling-potential specialties first) or most jobs (to see which occupations actually employ meaningful numbers of workers nationally).

Every row on this page links to the full national occupation profile, which expands into the 10th-to-90th percentile pay band, state-by-state breakdown, metro-level variation, BLS-projected 10-year growth, typical education requirements, and where available workplace safety and H-1B visa wage data. When browsing for career exploration, look past the headline median, an occupation with a $55,000 median and a 90th percentile of $95,000 often offers more realistic upside than one with a $70,000 median and flat percentile bands. Remember that BLS wage data excludes employer-provided benefits, bonuses, overtime, and equity compensation that can add 20-40% to real total compensation. Use the alphabetical index above to jump between letters, and the pagination below to page through the current letter if it has more than 50 occupations.