Methodology

Where the numbers come from

Wage & pay data

Pay figures — medians, percentiles, and the growth numbers on the About page and homepage — come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, the government's own survey of what employers actually pay by occupation and metro area. See bls.gov/oes. Figures are nominal, not inflation-adjusted, unless a page says otherwise.

OEWS is published once a year, not continuously. "May 2025" is BLS's label for that annual release — figures reflect the most recent published vintage, not a real-time market rate. A "Last updated" date on a page means we last pulled that same annual release; it doesn't mean the underlying numbers changed since.

Job listings

Live job listings come from two places: the Adzuna job search API, and direct feeds from employer applicant-tracking systems (ATS) we've connected to individually rather than through an aggregator. Every listing links back to the original posting, and Adzuna-sourced listings carry an "Adzuna" attribution badge, per Adzuna's API terms.

Licensing

Licensing requirements for skilled trades are set state by state — sometimes with county or city rules layered on top — and they change over time. This site describes the general shape of licensing for each trade (whether it's typically required, how apprenticeships and exams usually fit together) rather than tracking every state's current hour requirements or exam content. Verify current rules with your state's licensing board directly, or start with CareerOneStop's occupational license finder, a U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored tool that indexes state licensing requirements by occupation.

Certification guides

The certification guide pages cite national pay and job-outlook figures directly from BLS OEWS and the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, tied to that trade's specific occupation code — the exact source is linked at the bottom of each guide. A few trades also link the federal or industry body that issues a specific credential, like EPA Section 608 for HVAC refrigerant handling or the American Welding Society's Certified Welder program.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship sponsor listings come from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship, via its public partner-sponsor data. See apprenticeship.gov.

Something looks wrong?

If a number on this site looks off or out of date, let me know.