LSU Libraries
Researching a Career

Part 1: Researching a Career online

     Step 6: Federal Government Information

The federal government is one of the largest (if not the largest) producers of information in the world. Much of this information is related to the economy or to scientific research that supports the economy and/or well being of the people. Education, for example, is an activity that is good for those who participate in it and good for the economy, too. The government has an entire federal department, the Department of Education (www.ed.gov), which oversees the federal efforts to improve education. Like many federal agencies the Department of Education's web site contains statistical information. Visit the Department's National Center of Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov) for demographic and statistical data for every level of education, pre-school to college.

Many other professions or businesses are regulated by the government or have agencies that attempt to provide support and assistance (often in the form of government sponsored research) to the profession or business. LSU Libraries provides a page (www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html) breaking down the hundreds of government agency web sites. If you are unsure of what government agency, if any, represents your field of interest, ask your instructor or a librarian.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), an agency of the Department of Labor, provides in depth statistics on employment, earnings and prices at the national and regional level. For example, if you want to know what the average annual wage for computer engineers in Baton Rouge, the BLS's Wages by Area and Occupation will tell you this -- if you look under "Metropolitan Area Wage Data."

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