Glossary of Terms for the Occupational Outlook Handbook

The Occupational Outlook Handbook proves a glossary of terms.  The important terms and phrases for disability adjudication purposes are:  

Current Population Survey (CPS): a national survey that samples 60,000 households on a monthly basis and collects information on labor force characteristics of the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population; the CPS is conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics

CPS is an important concept because the Occupational Employment Quarterly uses it -- despite the fact that the employment side of the CPS is not readily available.  It is flawed because it uses a frank aggregation methodology.  See.  

Education: levels of education typically needed for entry into an occupation are classified as follows:

Doctoral or professional degree: degree awarded usually for at least 3 years of full-time academic work beyond a bachelor’s degree; e.g., lawyers,physicians and surgeons, and dentists

Master’s degree: degree awarded usually for 1 or 2 years of full-time academic study beyond a bachelor’s degree

Bachelor’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 4 years of full-time academic study beyond high school

Associate’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 2 years of full-time academic study beyond high school

Postsecondary nondegree award: usually a certificate or other award that is not a degree. Certifications issued by professional organizations or certifying bodies are not included in this category. Programs may last only a few weeks to 2 years. e.g., nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics, and hairstylists

Some college, no degree: a high school diploma or the equivalent, plus the completion of one or more postsecondary courses that did not result in any degree or award

High school diploma or equivalent: the completion of high school or the equivalent, resulting in the award of a high school diploma or the equivalent

No formal educational credential: signifies that a formal credential issued by an educational institution, such as a high school diploma or postsecondary certificate, is not typically needed for entry into the occupation; e.g., janitors and cleaners, cashiers, and agricultural equipment operators

Work experience in a related occupation: the level of work experience in an occupation related to a given occupation; the work experience captures work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers or is a commonly accepted substitute for other, more formal types of training or education

Five years or more: the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation is more than 5 years

Less than 5 years: the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation is less than 5 years

None: No work experience in a related occupation is typically needed for entry into a given occupation 

Education is one of four factors for consideration at step five of the sequential evaluation process.

Employment: the number of jobs in an occupation, including full-time jobs, part-time jobs, and self-employment

We can't establish the number of jobs if we don't have a number to start.

Work schedules: the number of daily hours, weekly hours, and annual weeks that employees in an occupation are scheduled to, and do, work. Short-term fluctuations and one-time events are not considered unless the change becomes permanent

Fixed work schedules: schedules under which employees who work those schedules do so on a continual basis, such as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Flexible work schedules: schedules under which employees set their own hours within guidelines and with a fixed number of total hours

Nonfixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work different hours on one job; often utilized to accommodate particular traits of individual workers or because the work required varies by individual

Rotating work schedules: schedules that have a fixed number of hours and time off over a period of more than 1 week, but not the same set hours

Full time: between 35 and 40 hours, inclusive, of work per week

Greater than full time: more than 40 hours of work per week

Part time: Less than 35 hours of work per week

This may require SSA to rethink the definition of substantial gainful activity as requiring a capacity for an eight-hour workday, forty-hour workweek.  Social Security Ruling 96-8p.

Important qualities: characteristics and personality traits that are likely needed for workers to be successful in given occupations

Qualifications: personality traits, education, training, work experience, or other qualities workers need to enter an occupation 

Qualities: characteristics and personality traits that are likely needed for workers to be successful in given occupations 

Think occupational adjustment.  This forms the substitute for temperaments from the occupational characteristics found in the published versions of the DOT and its companion publications.  One of the unselected characteristics is the temperaments.

On-the-job training: training or preparation that is typically needed, once employed in an occupation, to attain competency in the occupation. Training is occupation specific rather than job specific; skills learned can be transferred to another job in the same occupation.

Internship/Residency: training that involves preparation in a field such as medicine or teaching, generally under supervision in a professional setting, such as a hospital or classroom. This type of training may occur before one is employed. Completion of an internship or residency program is commonly required for state licensure or certification in a number of fields, including medicine, counseling, architecture, and teaching. This category does not include internships that are suggested for advancement.

Apprenticeship: a formal relationship between a worker and sponsor that consists of a combination of on-the-job training and related occupation-specific instruction in which the worker learns the practical and theoretical aspects of an occupation. Apprenticeship programs are sponsored by individual employers, joint employer-and-labor groups, and employee associations. Apprenticeship programs usually provide at least 144 hours of occupation-specific technical instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training per year over a 3- to-5-year period. Examples of occupations that utilize apprenticeships include electricians and structural iron and steel workers.

Long-term on-the-job training: more than 12 months of on-the-job training, or, alternatively, combined work experience and formal classroom instruction, that is needed for workers to develop the skills to attain competency in an occupation. This on-the-job training category also includes employer-sponsored training programs, such as those offered by fire academies and schools for air traffic controllers. In other occupations—nuclear power reactor operators, for example—trainees take formal courses, often provided at the jobsite, to prepare for the required licensing exams. This category also includes occupations in which workers typically need to possess a natural ability or talent—musicians and singers, athletes, dancers, photographers, and actors, among others—and that ability or talent must be cultivated over several years, sometimes in a nonwork setting. The category excludes apprenticeships.

Moderate-term on-the-job training: more than 1 month, and up to 12 months, of combined on-the-job experience and informal training that is needed for the worker to develop the skills to attain competency in the occupation; this on-the-job training category also includes employer-sponsored training programs.

Short-term on-the-job training: 1 month or less of combined on-the-job experience and informal training that is needed for the worker to develop the skills to attain competency in the occupation; this on-the-job training category also includes employer-sponsored training programs.

None: no additional occupation-specific training or preparation is typically required to attain competency in the occupation.

Think SVP.  If the focus is on unskilled work, then none and short-term on-the-job training fit the model.  Everything else requires an explanation.

O*NET: an online research source that provides detailed descriptions of occupations for use by jobseekers, workforce development and human resources professionals, students, and researchers. Created for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, by the National Center for O*NET Development

Until we get a replacement for the DOT, this is it.  A lot of the titles are 40 years since last updated.  Industries and occupations have changed.  The O*NET gives a wealth of information about the world of work -- including the sit-stand option.

There isn't a good substitute for examining the glossary personally.