The Lightcast Occupation Taxonomy (LOT) is our proprietary occupation taxonomy. The taxonomy identifies roles that are the same, across employers and geographies, regardless of job title. This is especially important in emerging fields, when job titles can evolve quickly. It is composed of four different levels (Career Area, Occupation Group, Lightcast Occupation and Specialized Occupation).

Career Areas are the broadest occupational category in the Lightcast Occupation Taxonomy. They are designed to be useful in bringing together many occupations, which are similar in terms of the broad disciplines commonly associated with the competent performance of work tasks.

Occupation Groups are clusters of occupations within the taxonomy that share very similar skill or role requirements. They describe the different “fields” or “disciplines” available in the market for early- or pre-career students.

Lightcast Occupations are working roles within the taxonomy that require a distinct mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and are performed using a variety of activities and tasks. Lightcast Occupations are designed to align easily with national taxonomies, undergraduate degree programs, and the career and career aspirations associated with workers entering the workforce or entering a new industry for the first time.

Specialized Occupations are roles grouped at a level of granularity designed to match the expectations of business looking to hire, train and develop workers for the specialized roles in their workforce and for universities looking to track demand for specialized masters and certificate level programs. They are characterized by unique and value-added sets of skills, roles, and responsibilities, as well as additional education or credentials beyond the minimum requirements of the entry-level role they may extend from.

The Lightcast Occupation Taxonomy is available throughout the Analyst platform in postings data for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.