# Standardization across countries **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [April 1, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/standardization-across-countries/2250 "2018-04-01T21:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Alican](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Alican)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/standardization-across-countries/2250/1 "2018-04-01T21:28:00Z")
Dear all, I have been studying on the relationship between visa categories and migrant’s outcomes. The problem that I faced, was the standardization of occupation variable. It is recorded differently across countries and there is no consistency within countries over time. Since my paper includes more or less 150 countries, I would like to know if there is any standardized version of this data or a crosswalk. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Michelle\_Pratt](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/michelle_pratt/32/194_2.png) [@Michelle\_Pratt](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Michelle_Pratt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/standardization-across-countries/2250/2 "2018-04-02T22:34:00Z")
We have done our best to provide comparable data over time by offering the [OCCISCO](https://international.ipums.org/international-action/variables/OCCISCO#description_section) variable. OCCISCO records the person’s primary occupation, coded according to the major categories in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) scheme for 1988. As you have noted, occupations differ across countries and over time, so the standardization is not perfect, but provides some comparability. You can read about general and country specific comparability [here](https://international.ipums.org/international-action/variables/OCCISCO#comparability_section). If you have not already considered this variable for your analysis, it may be helpful.