Introvertist

Home / Introvert jobs

Jobs with no customer interaction

O*NET asks workers how important it is in their job to deal with external customers or the public, from 1 (not important at all) to 5 (extremely important). It measures importance, not how many customers you see in a day.

We took the occupations in the lowest tenth on that rating and sorted them by median pay, best first. That makes this list different from the others on this site: it shows the highest earners among jobs where customers matter least. The top 40 are below.

What the data shows

  • The best-paid job in this group is Database Architects at $139,500 a year.
  • In 7 of the 40, workers rate dealing with the public closest to "not important at all".
  • 95% of these 40 jobs pay more than the US median wage of $50,980.
  • 24 of the 40 typically need no more than a high school diploma to start.
  • 21 of the 40 are projected to shrink between 2025 and 2035.
  • Between them these 40 jobs employ about 4,466,000 people.
  • 16 of the 40 usually need some form of degree or postsecondary award.

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 CustomersContact Median pay Typical entry education Growth 2025-35 Projected openings a year
1 Database Architects 2.13.6 $139,500 Bachelor's degree +9.4% 3,900
2 Software Developers 1.93.9 $135,980 Bachelor's degree +10.2% 95,300
3 Actuaries 2.03.6 $130,000 Bachelor's degree +9.2% 1,500
4 Astronomers 2.03.6 $128,820 Doctoral or professional degree +7.8% 100
5 Law Teachers, Postsecondary 2.03.6 $128,500 Doctoral or professional degree +2.6% 1,800
6 Biochemists and Biophysicists 1.83.8 $127,410 Doctoral or professional degree +12.3% 2,900
7 Mathematicians 2.03.4 $126,710 Master's degree +0.6% 100
8 Nuclear Power Reactor Operators 2.14.7 $122,890 High school diploma or equivalent -5.9% 400
9 Database Administrators 2.14.1 $104,620 Bachelor's degree -0.1% 3,300
10 Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers 2.14.0 $104,300 Bachelor's degree +5.7% 10,700
11 Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment 2.14.0 $84,890 Postsecondary nondegree award +5.4% 500
12 Avionics Technicians 1.94.3 $82,280 Postsecondary nondegree award +9.4% 1,700
13 Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 1.94.0 $79,350 Doctoral or professional degree +0.2% 1,600
14 Roof Bolters, Mining 1.14.5 $78,540 High school diploma or equivalent -18.9% 100
15 Chemical Plant and System Operators 2.04.3 $78,120 High school diploma or equivalent -5.2% 1,300
16 Writers and Authors 1.93.1 $76,910 Bachelor's degree -0.3% 11,900
17 Terrazzo Workers and Finishers 2.13.5 $76,170 High school diploma or equivalent -13.0% 100
18 Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining 1.63.7 $74,500 No formal educational credential -15.8% 400
19 Industrial Machinery Mechanics 1.74.2 $64,520 High school diploma or equivalent +17.8% 44,400
20 Tool and Die Makers 1.84.2 $64,050 Postsecondary nondegree award -9.2% 4,300
21 Model Makers, Metal and Plastic 1.33.3 $63,340 High school diploma or equivalent -17.3% 200
22 Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters 1.44.2 $62,620 High school diploma or equivalent -6.1% 0
23 Computer User Support Specialists 2.04.4 $61,860 Some college, no degree -3.5% 39,700
24 Continuous Mining Machine Operators 1.24.4 $61,810 No formal educational credential +3.2% 1,400
25 Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons 1.64.2 $61,290 High school diploma or equivalent -13.7% 100
26 Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 1.43.8 $58,470 No formal educational credential -5.3% 7,300
27 Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders 1.74.4 $58,040 High school diploma or equivalent +3.6% 13,900
28 Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic 2.13.7 $58,000 High school diploma or equivalent -22.8% 100
29 Plasterers and Stucco Masons 2.14.1 $57,660 No formal educational credential +2.8% 1,500
30 Tire Builders 2.13.8 $57,390 High school diploma or equivalent +0.8% 1,900
31 Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders 1.73.5 $54,430 High school diploma or equivalent -2.9% 1,400
32 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 2.03.8 $53,750 High school diploma or equivalent +2.4% 40,300
33 Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 1.93.5 $52,800 High school diploma or equivalent -13.2% 1,000
34 Food Science Technicians 1.84.6 $52,130 Associate's degree +4.8% 3,000
35 Fallers 2.13.7 $52,100 High school diploma or equivalent -9.9% 500
36 Pourers and Casters, Metal 1.13.4 $51,810 High school diploma or equivalent -5.0% 400
37 Semiconductor Processing Technicians 1.13.6 $51,430 High school diploma or equivalent +8.2% 3,400
38 Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 1.84.2 $51,330 High school diploma or equivalent -6.2% 4,800
39 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators 1.94.0 $50,690 High school diploma or equivalent -9.4% 12,500
40 Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners 1.82.3 $50,060 High school diploma or equivalent -6.8% 500

What to keep in mind

  • Low customer importance is about outside customers and the public. You still work with colleagues, managers and suppliers.
  • 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

Do these jobs involve no contact with anyone?

No. Workers rate dealing with customers or the public as unimportant, but they still work with colleagues, managers and suppliers.

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.

More ways to look at it

Is your field a good fit?