Of 14,575 postings located in Philadelphia County and coded with detailed occupational titles, 55 percent required education at a Bachelor's degree or higher.
Educational attainment levels can be considered from different angles: education and experience required by an occupation versus education and experience reported by workers who are employed in an occupation. We examine job openings by top occupational titles at each educational and experience level. A given occupation may vary in the required educational level based on the technical requirements of the job and the region. In 2012 Bureau of Labor Statistics proposed a new educational attainment classification that describes occupations in the following ways:
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Entry level education represents education required to enter the occupation. Possible assignments are: Doctoral or professional degree; Master's degree; Bachelor's degree; Associate's degree; Postsecondary non-degree award; Some college, no degree; High school diploma or equivalent; Less than high school.
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Work experience in a related occupation is work experience considered by employers necessary to enter into the occupation, or accepted substitute for formal types of training. Assignments for this category are: more than 5 years, 1-5 years, less than 1 year, or none.
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Typical on-the-job training indicates training needed to attain competency in the occupation. Assignments are internship/residency; apprenticeship; long-term; moderate-term; or short-term on-the-job training; or none.
Individuals may draw their knowledge, skills, and abilities required by occupations from a combination of formal education, on-the-job training, and previous experience. More mature workers may bring experience substituting formal education, while younger workers may mostly rely on formal education to enter the occupation.
We observed that several occupations in our region have national educational requirements that do not match the educational levels of those workers actually employed. For example 62 percent of Retail salespersons had some postsecondary education though nationally this is not required. To cite another example, 56 percent of Registered Nurses in our region reported a Bachelor's degree, meaning that applicants with Associate's degree are going to face greater competition.
Here we compiled the top online advertised occupations by education and experience levels:
| Description | Openings | Education | Training | Exper. |
| Less than high school; some training | ||||
| Retail salespersons | 259 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Stock clerks and order fillers | 165 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Cashiers, except gaming | 111 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food | 106 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Home health aides | 98 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 44 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 43 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Food preparation workers | 42 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 41 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Bartenders | 33 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Waiters and waitresses | 28 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Cooks, restaurant | 25 | Less than HS | Moderate-term OJT | < 1 year |
| Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop | 22 | Less than HS | None | None |
| Personal and home care aides | 16 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Dishwashers | 16 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Nonfarm animal caretakers | 12 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| Telemarketers | 11 | Less than HS | Short-term OJT | None |
| High school diploma; some training | ||||
| Customer service representatives | 211 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Medical assistants | 113 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Insurance sales agents | 111 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Security guards | 106 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 99 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Tellers | 67 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Merchandise displayers and window trimmers | 48 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Receptionists and information clerks | 46 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Healthcare support workers, all other | 46 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Legal secretaries | 45 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Office clerks, general | 39 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Loan officers | 39 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Data entry keyers | 39 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Sales representatives, services, all other | 36 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks | 34 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Billing and posting clerks and machine operators | 33 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Demonstrators and product promoters | 32 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| Pharmacy technicians | 28 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Bill and account collectors | 27 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Interviewers, except eligibility and loan | 24 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | None |
| High school diploma, long-term training | ||||
| Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators | 50 | HS Diploma | Long-term OJT | None |
| Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products | 49 | HS Diploma | Long-term OJT | None |
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 38 | HS Diploma | Long-term OJT | None |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | 18 | HS Diploma | Long-term OJT | None |
| Electricians | 17 | HS Diploma | Apprenticeship | None |
| Carpenters | 15 | HS Diploma | Apprenticeship | None |
| Business operation specialists, all other | 14 | HS Diploma | Long-term OJT | < 1 year |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 11 | HS Diploma | Moderate-term OJT | < 1 year |
| Photographers | 11 | HS Diploma | Long-term OJT | None |
| Appraisers and assessors of real estate | 10 | HS Diploma | Apprenticeship | None |
| High school diploma, experience | ||||
| Executive secretaries and administrative assistants | 250 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers | 214 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer | 142 | HS Diploma | Short-term OJT | 1 to 5 years |
| First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers | 108 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers | 91 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Food service managers | 90 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Chefs and head cooks | 82 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Administrative services managers | 77 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Managers, all other | 65 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Property, real estate, and community association managers | 31 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Transportation, storage, and distribution managers | 26 | HS Diploma | None | > 5 years |
| First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers | 21 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers | 20 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Lodging managers | 12 | HS Diploma | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Postsec. non-degree | ||||
| Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants | 144 | Postsec. non-degree | None | None |
| Medical records and health information technicians | 69 | Postsec. non-degree | None | None |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses | 37 | Postsec. non-degree | None | None |
| Dental assistants | 31 | Postsec. non-degree | None | None |
| Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 26 | Postsec. non-degree | Long-term OJT | None |
| Healthcare technologists and technicians, all other | 19 | Postsec. non-degree | Short-term OJT | None |
| Emergency medical technicians and paramedics | 13 | Postsec. non-degree | None | None |
| First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers | 13 | Postsec. non-degree | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Some College; training | ||||
| Computer support specialists | 83 | Some College | Moderate-term OJT | None |
| Associate's | ||||
| Registered nurses | 1,299 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| General and operations managers | 179 | Assoc. degree | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Paralegals and legal assistants | 98 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Physical therapist assistants | 82 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Occupational therapist assistants | 76 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Radiologic technologists and technicians | 35 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Construction managers | 29 | Assoc. degree | None | > 5 years |
| Electrical and electronic engineering technicians | 24 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Medical and clinical laboratory technicians | 14 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Diagnostic medical sonographers | 14 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Preschool teachers, except special education | 11 | Assoc. degree | None | None |
| Bachelor's or higher | ||||
| Computer programmers | 2,016 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Management analysts | 720 | Bachelor's degree | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Accountants and auditors | 418 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Occupational therapists | 338 | Master's degree | None | None |
| Computer systems analysts | 308 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Physical therapists | 303 | Doctoral/Prof. | None | None |
| Computer software engineers, systems software | 235 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Financial managers | 224 | Bachelor's degree | None | > 5 years |
| Network and computer systems administrators | 196 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Computer software engineers, applications | 176 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Speech-language pathologists | 169 | Master's degree | None | None |
| Financial analysts | 159 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Sales managers | 145 | Bachelor's degree | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Advertising and promotions managers | 142 | Bachelor's degree | None | 1 to 5 years |
| Lawyers | 139 | Doctoral/Prof. | None | None |
| Medical and health services managers | 131 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other | 114 | Master's degree | None | None |
| Computer specialists, all other | 105 | Bachelor's degree | None | None |
| Chief executives | 100 | Bachelor's degree | None | > 5 years |
| Clinical, counseling, and school psychologists | 97 | Doctoral/Prof. | Internship/residency | None |
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