An occupation is a collection of jobs that involve similar work, regardless of how those jobs are titled. Occupations are defined using structured classification systems, often referred to as taxonomies. These systems provide consistency and make it easier to compare roles across companies, industries, and locations.
Occupation taxonomies vary by country, but the common ones used at Lightcast include the following:
Each taxonomy organizes jobs based on shared responsibilities, required skills, and typical qualifications, not the specific words in a job title. For example, “Principal Software Engineer,” “Full Stack Developer,” and “DevOps Engineer” might all map to the same occupation.