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Boston Career Explorer

About the data

Data as of Oct 20, 2026. Every figure on this site comes from the public sources below.

What each figure covers

FigureArea it coversHow we label it
Jobs (employment) and payBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area (MSA 14460)Greater Boston
10-year growth and yearly openingsMassachusetts statewideMassachusetts, 2024–2034
Typical education, experience, on-the-job trainingUnited StatesTypical U.S. entry requirements
AI exposure and observed AI useUnited States, by occupation (not location-specific)AI exposure (national research)
Training programsTitle IV colleges and schools in the Boston metro areaPrograms near Boston
Construction employersCity of Boston development projects covered by the Boston Residents Jobs PolicyOn Boston construction projects

None of these sources publish figures for the City of Boston alone. “Greater Boston” is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area.

How AI exposure is measured

AI exposure is how much of a job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss. A job with higher exposure may change a lot, and people in it may use AI tools every day, but that does not mean the job goes away.

The exposure index (0 to 100) is the average of three research measures, each turned into a percentile of all jobs: AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE), Language-model AIOE, and GPTs-are-GPTs. Most jobs have all three; a few have one or two. Under 34 is “Lower”, 34 to 66 is “Moderate”, and 67 and up is “Higher”. 32 jobs are not covered by this research.

“Observed AI use today” comes from the Anthropic Economic Index, which measures how often AI is actually used for a job’s tasks: “Little or none”, “Some” or “Substantial”.

The outlook text, the “Likely to change” and “Still relies on people” lists, and the reasons on next-step cards are written with AI (Claude) from the data shown on each job page. Next-step jobs are first chosen from the data: jobs in Greater Boston that pay at least as much, have lower AI exposure, are steady or growing in Massachusetts, and need at most a step or two more education, ranked by how closely O*NET relates them. AI only picks among those and explains the move.

What is not here yet

  • There are no projections for the City of Boston alone. Pay and jobs are for Greater Boston; growth is for Massachusetts.
  • There is no “recent growth” history. Growth is the 2024–2034 Massachusetts projection only.
  • Training lists cover colleges and schools in federal education data (IPEDS). They do not include the City’s own partner programs or apprenticeships. Distances are measured from Boston City Hall, and some schools are up to 61 miles away.
  • Employer lists cover construction only, from the Boston Residents Jobs Policy reports. They show hours already worked, not job openings.
  • The match from construction trades to jobs was made by hand by the project team. For example, Plumber, Pipefitter and Steamfitter all count toward Plumbers, Pipefitters and Steamfitters.

Sources, licenses and citations