How RoleMath Works
Quick Verdict
RoleMath is a decision engine, not a directory, bootcamp, job board, or affiliate blog. Every salary, outlook, and credential fact is tied to an official source you can see, and our recommendations are fit-dependent — never a funnel toward a product we sell.
Where Our Data Comes From
| Source | What it backs | Currency |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OEWS | Occupation-level wages | May 2025 national release |
| BLS Employment Projections | 10-year outlook, annual openings | 2024–2034 cycle |
| O*NET 30.3 | Skills, tasks, interests, job zones | O*NET 30.3 |
| Official vendor pages & exam guides | Exam codes, objectives, prerequisites, cost, credential type | As-verified, dated per page |
How the RoleMath Score Works
RoleMath computes a transparent, deterministic fit score before any AI-written summary, so you see why. It weighs 12 cited dimensions — Background Fit, Skill Transfer, Role Readiness, Labor Context, Interest Fit, Prerequisite Gap, Budget Fit, Study-Time Fit, Timeline Pressure, Location Context, Source Confidence, and Risk Fit. Source Confidence can block a recommendation we can't cite; Risk Fit warns when a path is risky for your constraints. It's decision support, not a guarantee.
What We Will Not Claim
- No certification salary or ROI claims — a credential does not earn you a specific amount. We show occupation-level BLS wages as context, separate from any certificate.
- No job, placement, or pass-rate guarantees.
- No "best certification for everyone" — recommendations depend on your goal and background.
- We show declining occupations honestly (e.g., general IT support is projected to shrink) and frame them as launchpads, not endpoints.
Credential-Type Honesty
We keep these distinct on every page and never call a course a "certification": proctored certification · professional certificate · certificate of completion · badge · course / learning hub.
How We Make Money — And What We Don't Do
- Ratings and recommendations are never pay-to-rank; no vendor pays for placement.
- We are vendor-neutral — we compare credentials across providers on the same evidence, not as a single-vendor funnel.
- Any affiliate or referral link would be labeled inline and would never influence a rating; resource lists put official/free options first.
Sources
- Official source: https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip
- Official source: https://www.bls.gov/emp/ind-occ-matrix/occupation.xlsx
- Official source: https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
Citation Ledger
| ID | Supports | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIT-01 | Occupation wage methodology | government_labor_data | BLS OEWS (May 2025 national) |
| CIT-02 | Outlook / annual openings methodology | government_labor_data | BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 |
| CIT-03 | Skills / tasks / interests / job zones | government_labor_data | O*NET 30.3 database |
| CIT-04 | Credential facts come from official vendor pages | primary_oem | CompTIA certifications (example official vendor source) |