Overview
All Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers
-
Unavailable Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
Wholesalers
-
11,400 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
83% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
48 hours Average full-time
-
48 years Average age
-
22% female Gender Share
Wholesalers manage the operations of wholesale trading establishments.
You need extensive industry experience to work as a Wholesaler. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- Identifies local and overseas business opportunities
- Develops and implements business plans, as well as the policies and procedures for marketing, operating, human resource, pricing and credit.
- Determines the mix of products and services to be provided and negotiates conditions of trade
- Liaises with local and overseas suppliers and distributors about orders and products
- Researches regulatory and statutory requirements affecting the importing, exporting, wholesaling and distribution of goods
- Monitors business performance and prepares the estimates, financial statements and reports of operations
- Appoints agents and distributors
- Oversees the display and sale of merchandise and preparation of product information for customer service staff and customers
- Implements after-sales service procedures.
Prospects
The number of people working as Wholesalers (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 18,000 in 2011 to 11,400 in 2016.
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 medium sized occupation.
- Location: Wholesalers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Wholesale Trade; Retail Trade; and Manufacturing.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (83%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 48 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 48 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are 45 years or older (61%).
- Gender: 22% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
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 need extensive industry experience to work as a Wholesaler. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. 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
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Retail Services and Transport and Logistics Training Package VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers who are motivated, organised and can communicate clearly with a variety of different people.
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.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Management of financial resources
Figuring out how money is needed to do something, and keeping track of the money that's being spent.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Working with numbers
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Speed of recognition
Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Managing payments and orders
Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Providing office support
Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Coming up with systems and processes
Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Estimating amounts, costs and resources
Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

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, 13-1022.00 - Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products.
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.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
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.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

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, 13-1022.00 - Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products.
All Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers
-
Unavailable Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
Wholesalers
-
11,400 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
83% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
48 hours Average full-time
-
48 years Average age
-
22% female Gender Share
Wholesalers manage the operations of wholesale trading establishments.
You need extensive industry experience to work as a Wholesaler. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- Identifies local and overseas business opportunities
- Develops and implements business plans, as well as the policies and procedures for marketing, operating, human resource, pricing and credit.
- Determines the mix of products and services to be provided and negotiates conditions of trade
- Liaises with local and overseas suppliers and distributors about orders and products
- Researches regulatory and statutory requirements affecting the importing, exporting, wholesaling and distribution of goods
- Monitors business performance and prepares the estimates, financial statements and reports of operations
- Appoints agents and distributors
- Oversees the display and sale of merchandise and preparation of product information for customer service staff and customers
- Implements after-sales service procedures.
The number of people working as Wholesalers (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 18,000 in 2011 to 11,400 in 2016.
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 medium sized occupation.
- Location: Wholesalers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Wholesale Trade; Retail Trade; and Manufacturing.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (83%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 48 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 48 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are 45 years or older (61%).
- Gender: 22% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
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 need extensive industry experience to work as a Wholesaler. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. 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
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Retail Services and Transport and Logistics Training Package VET training pathways.
Employers look for Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers who are motivated, organised and can communicate clearly with a variety of different people.
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.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Management of financial resources
Figuring out how money is needed to do something, and keeping track of the money that's being spent.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Working with numbers
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Speed of recognition
Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Managing payments and orders
Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Providing office support
Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Coming up with systems and processes
Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Estimating amounts, costs and resources
Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

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, 13-1022.00 - Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products.
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.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
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.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

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, 13-1022.00 - Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products.