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Jobs that don't require talking to people

O*NET asks workers how often their job involves three kinds of talking: face-to-face discussions, telephone conversations and public speaking. Each answer runs from never to every day.

All three are frequency questions, so we averaged them into a talking index from 0 to 100, where lower means less talking. We ranked 743 occupations and kept the 40 with the lowest index. Each of the three ratings is shown in the table on its own 1 to 5 scale.

What the data shows

  • The lowest talking index belongs to cutters and trimmers, hand, at 19 out of 100.
  • In 39 of the 40 jobs, at least a quarter of workers say they never have phone conversations at work.
  • 28% of these 40 jobs pay more than the US median wage of $50,980.
  • 37 of the 40 typically need no more than a high school diploma to start.
  • 23 of the 40 are projected to shrink between 2025 and 2035.
  • The fastest growing is cooks, restaurant at +12.1% over ten years.

The ranking

Click a column heading to sort. Ratings are O*NET averages on a 1 to 5 scale; hover a heading for what it measures. Pay is the national median annual wage. Growth is the projected change in employment from 2025 to 2035.

# Occupation Face-to-facePhoneSpeaking Median pay Typical entry education Growth 2025-35 Projected openings a year
1 Cutters and Trimmers, Hand 2.91.11.3 $38,020 No formal educational credential -18.9% 500
2 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 3.01.51.1 $39,150 No formal educational credential +4.7% 149,500
3 Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.01.21.2 $46,330 High school diploma or equivalent -10.5% 13,200
4 Rock Splitters, Quarry 3.51.81.4 $48,740 No formal educational credential +5.8% 400
5 Cooks, Restaurant 3.42.01.3 $37,390 No formal educational credential +12.1% 218,600
6 Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3.81.51.6 $38,670 High school diploma or equivalent -10.3% 2,400
7 Crossing Guards and Flaggers 3.72.01.2 $38,100 No formal educational credential +3.5% 17,300
8 Sewing Machine Operators 3.51.61.8 $36,670 No formal educational credential -15.1% 9,800
9 Foundry Mold and Coremakers 4.31.41.7 $48,110 High school diploma or equivalent -23.0% 800
10 Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.31.81.4 $52,800 High school diploma or equivalent -13.2% 1,000
11 Upholsterers 3.82.11.5 $46,340 High school diploma or equivalent -2.3% 1,700
12 Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 4.31.91.3 $58,470 No formal educational credential -5.3% 7,300
13 Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders 4.21.71.5 $35,650 High school diploma or equivalent -6.9% 400
14 Model Makers, Metal and Plastic 4.61.61.3 $63,340 High school diploma or equivalent -17.3% 200
15 Tire Builders 4.41.71.4 $57,390 High school diploma or equivalent +0.8% 1,900
16 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 4.21.61.8 $43,220 High school diploma or equivalent +4.1% 41,400
17 Pourers and Casters, Metal 4.41.91.3 $51,810 High school diploma or equivalent -5.0% 400
18 Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors 3.72.81.1 $49,690 No formal educational credential +2.1% 15,500
19 Furniture Finishers 3.92.01.8 $44,540 High school diploma or equivalent -3.5% 1,500
20 Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 4.71.91.0 $38,760 High school diploma or equivalent -13.6% 900
21 Avionics Technicians 4.32.21.2 $82,280 Postsecondary nondegree award +9.4% 1,700
22 Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.61.91.3 $43,960 High school diploma or equivalent -9.7% 2,500
23 Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders 4.41.91.5 $48,040 High school diploma or equivalent +2.6% 1,800
24 Print Binding and Finishing Workers 4.72.01.1 $42,290 High school diploma or equivalent -17.5% 2,300
25 Machine Feeders and Offbearers 4.11.82.0 $41,220 No formal educational credential -13.1% 4,000
26 Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons 3.72.91.3 $61,290 High school diploma or equivalent -13.7% 100
27 Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters 4.21.81.9 $46,680 High school diploma or equivalent -2.9% 6,900
28 Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products 4.61.81.5 $35,730 No formal educational credential -3.4% 5,800
29 Manicurists and Pedicurists 3.82.91.1 $35,760 Postsecondary nondegree award +9.2% 21,900
30 Sheet Metal Workers 4.12.11.7 $61,800 High school diploma or equivalent +2.5% 9,800
31 Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 4.11.91.9 $35,060 No formal educational credential -15.7% 2,200
32 Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 4.31.81.9 $39,530 High school diploma or equivalent -13.7% 1,300
33 Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood 4.32.21.4 $42,770 High school diploma or equivalent -1.0% 4,500
34 Animal Breeders 3.13.51.3 $51,130 High school diploma or equivalent +3.0% 1,000
35 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 4.32.11.5 $53,750 High school diploma or equivalent +2.4% 40,300
36 Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 4.51.61.9 $48,250 High school diploma or equivalent +2.5% 15,300
37 Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders 4.31.82.0 $43,530 High school diploma or equivalent +3.4% 1,700
38 Software Developers 3.03.41.6 $135,980 Bachelor's degree +10.2% 95,300
39 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators 4.22.21.7 $50,690 High school diploma or equivalent -9.4% 12,500
40 Bakers 4.42.31.4 $37,160 No formal educational credential +5.5% 36,500

What to keep in mind

  • Every occupation in the data involves some talking. A low index means less of it than other jobs, not none.
  • O*NET ratings are averages of worker answers on a 1 to 5 scale. Some questions ask how much (contact), some how often (face-to-face, phone, public speaking, conflict, noise) and some how important (teamwork, customers). They are shown on their own scales.
  • The ratings describe what the job asks of workers. They do not measure personality, and they are not medical or psychological advice.
  • Pay and growth are national figures. Local pay varies. We ranked 743 of the 760 occupations in the data. The other 17 are left out: 13 because O*NET flags their ratings as unreliable or publishes no respondent count, and 4 because the BLS publishes no annual median wage for them.

See every occupation in the full introvert jobs table.

Common questions

Is there a job with no talking at all?

No. Every rated occupation involves some talking. The lowest talking index is 19 out of 100, for cutters and trimmers, hand.

Are these jobs only for introverts?

No. The ratings describe what the work asks of the people doing it, not anyone's personality. Introverts and extroverts can do any job on the list.

Where does the data come from?

Work ratings come from the O*NET 31.0 Database, where workers in each occupation answer questions about their job. Pay is the national median annual wage from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Growth, projected openings, entry education and training come from BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

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