Overview
All Photographic Developers and Printers
-
Unavailable Weekly Pay
-
Decline Future Growth
-
1,300 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
53% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
37 years Average age
-
61% female Gender Share
Photographic Developers and Printers edit and adjust digital images, develop photographic film, and print photographic images from digital media, negatives and positives using computer software, fully automatic equipment and by separate processes.
Specialisations: Copy Camera Operator, Dark Room Attendant, Digital Photographic Printer, Film Process Operator, Minilab Operator, Photographic Enlarger Operator, Silver Recovery Operator, Slide Developer.
You can work as a Photographic Developer and Printer without formal qualifications, however, a course in photography, graphic art or printing may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- cropping images and adjusting colour, brightness and contrast
- preparing exposed film for different processing batches in dark rooms and dark chambers
- adjusting settings and running automatic developing equipment
- inspecting prints and adjusting settings on print-making equipment to produce required number, size and type of prints
- scanning images onto electronic media
- checking and replenishing chemicals and water supply for chemical and water baths required to produce negative and positive prints
- monitoring and testing photographic processing and printing equipment, and maintaining operational standards
- may prepare chemical solutions for different techniques and effects
- may develop black and white images by separate processes and operate enlargers
- may develop motion picture film
Prospects
The number of people working as Photographic Developers and Printers (in their main job) grew very strongly over 5 years:
from 1,000 in 2014 to 1,300 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very small occupation.
- Location: Photographic Developers and Printers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Retail Trade; Health Care and Social Assistance; and Other Services.
- Full-time: Around half work full-time (53%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 37 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are under 25 years of age (24%).
- Gender: 61% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You can work as a Photographic Developer and Printer without formal qualifications, however, a course in photography, graphic art or printing may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Photographic Developers and Printers who have good attention to detail, are reliable and hardworking.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Fine arts
Compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Equipment selection
Deciding on the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
-
Troubleshooting
Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Equipment maintenance
Maintaining equipment and deciding what maintenance will be needed in the future.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Colour discrimination
Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Working with electronic equipment
Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing electronic devices and equipment.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Coordinating the work of a team
Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Leading and encouraging a team
Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9151.00 - Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Pace of work set by equipment
Pace of work depends on the speed of equipment or machinery.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Exposure to contaminants
Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Dangerous conditions
Work near dangers like high voltage electricity, flammable material, explosives or chemicals.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9151.00 - Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators.
All Photographic Developers and Printers
-
Unavailable Weekly Pay
-
Decline Future Growth
-
1,300 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
53% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
37 years Average age
-
61% female Gender Share
Photographic Developers and Printers edit and adjust digital images, develop photographic film, and print photographic images from digital media, negatives and positives using computer software, fully automatic equipment and by separate processes.
Specialisations: Copy Camera Operator, Dark Room Attendant, Digital Photographic Printer, Film Process Operator, Minilab Operator, Photographic Enlarger Operator, Silver Recovery Operator, Slide Developer.
You can work as a Photographic Developer and Printer without formal qualifications, however, a course in photography, graphic art or printing may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- cropping images and adjusting colour, brightness and contrast
- preparing exposed film for different processing batches in dark rooms and dark chambers
- adjusting settings and running automatic developing equipment
- inspecting prints and adjusting settings on print-making equipment to produce required number, size and type of prints
- scanning images onto electronic media
- checking and replenishing chemicals and water supply for chemical and water baths required to produce negative and positive prints
- monitoring and testing photographic processing and printing equipment, and maintaining operational standards
- may prepare chemical solutions for different techniques and effects
- may develop black and white images by separate processes and operate enlargers
- may develop motion picture film
The number of people working as Photographic Developers and Printers (in their main job) grew very strongly over 5 years:
from 1,000 in 2014 to 1,300 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very small occupation.
- Location: Photographic Developers and Printers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Retail Trade; Health Care and Social Assistance; and Other Services.
- Full-time: Around half work full-time (53%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 37 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are under 25 years of age (24%).
- Gender: 61% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You can work as a Photographic Developer and Printer without formal qualifications, however, a course in photography, graphic art or printing may be useful. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
Employers look for Photographic Developers and Printers who have good attention to detail, are reliable and hardworking.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Fine arts
Compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Equipment selection
Deciding on the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
-
Troubleshooting
Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Equipment maintenance
Maintaining equipment and deciding what maintenance will be needed in the future.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Colour discrimination
Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Working with electronic equipment
Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing electronic devices and equipment.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Coordinating the work of a team
Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Leading and encouraging a team
Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9151.00 - Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Pace of work set by equipment
Pace of work depends on the speed of equipment or machinery.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Exposure to contaminants
Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Dangerous conditions
Work near dangers like high voltage electricity, flammable material, explosives or chemicals.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
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Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
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Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
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Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9151.00 - Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators.