Clergy
Community and Social Service
Most weeks revolve around preparing and delivering sermons, reading from sacred texts, and leading regular services. Prayer, religious rites, and instruction for people who want to join the faith are part of the same work. Counseling is common—individuals or groups who bring spiritual, emotional, or personal problems—and some of the teaching also happens through articles, speeches, or classes. The work sits inside a congregation and the beliefs of a particular faith or denomination. It tends to fit people who can speak clearly in public, listen carefully in private, and stay close to sacred texts and ritual.
Typical education: Master’s Degree
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$60'810
Median Wage Market Position
$60'810
What you might do
- Lead regular worship services for the congregation
- Prepare and deliver sermons or talks
- Counsel people on spiritual and personal needs
- Read from sacred texts during worship
- Perform rites such as weddings or funerals
- Teach the faith through classes or writing
Skills that matter
- Sermons and talks prepared for worship
- Reading from the Bible, Torah, or Koran
- Counseling on spiritual and personal struggles
- Instruction for people seeking conversion
- Articles, speeches, and classes on faith
- Leading services and administering rites
AI & the future of this role
Sermon research and administrative tasks might get lighter with AI assistance, but worship leadership, pastoral counseling, and ritual presence rest on human trust and shared faith. That relational core is likely to keep the role comparatively resilient.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details