Careers Succeeding at Work Occupational Outlook Handbook Use the Occupational Outlook Handbook to Print Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy/The Image Bank/Getty Images Succeeding at Work Human Resources Glossary Job Search Resources Hiring Best Practices Employment Law Employee Motivation Employee Management Management Careers Management & Leadership Employee Benefits By Susan M. Heathfield Susan M. Heathfield Susan Heathfield is an HR and management consultant with an MS degree. She has decades of experience writing about human resources. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 12/27/17 The "Occupational Outlook Handbook" (OOH) is a nationally recognized source of career and job information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Occupational Outlook Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, and the training and education needed. The Occupational Outlook Handbook also describes potential earnings and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations. Job descriptions are available in the Occupational Outlook Handbook in an alphabetical listing by search or by major job categories such as management, professional, sales, and administration. The OOH has searches available for different jobs by median pay, entry-level salary, on-the-job training, number of new jobs (projected), and rate of growth of the field (projected). You can also browse through the OOH by highest paying jobs, fastest growing jobs (projected), and by the number of new jobs (projected). It is an excellent resource for employees who want to change careers, and for high school and college students who want to learn about careers. Career counselors and teachers at any educational level will find a goldmine of information in this resource. It is also a useful tool for Human Resources professionals who can use it to compare the job duties of their jobs to standard job descriptions. They can also use the salary information as one component of their market research. The OOH is also helpful when HR staff and hiring managers develop the job description for new positions. Employees have used the OOH for basic salary research as one component of pricing their services for the job market or as proof that they are underpaid.