Career Atlas USA

Office Clerks, General

Median salary
$45,010
Average salary
$46,420
Employment
2,464,940
Projected growth
6.7% decline
Annual openings
282,400
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent

What Office Clerks, General Do

Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, office machine operation, and filing.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
0.5%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Administrativeimportance 4.2/5
  • English Languageimportance 3.8/5
  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.4/5
  • Administration and Managementimportance 3.0/5
  • Computers and Electronicsimportance 2.9/5
  • Mathematicsimportance 2.7/5
  • Economics and Accountingimportance 2.4/5
  • Public Safety and Securityimportance 2.4/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Telephone Conversations4.9/5
  • E-Mail4.8/5
  • Contact With Others4.7/5
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.7/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.6/5
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.6/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.0/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
  • Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5
  • Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
  • Instructingimportance 2.8/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.8/5
  • Persuasionimportance 2.6/5
  • Negotiationimportance 2.6/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Cooperation
  • Integrity
  • Social Orientation
  • Self-Control
  • Adaptability

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • ConventionalHigh
  • EnterprisingMedium
  • SocialMedium
  • RealisticLow
  • InvestigativeLow
  • ArtisticLow

Specific Interests

A more detailed breakdown of this occupation’s interest profile, per O*NET.

Military Backgrounds That Lead Here

Military occupations commonly matched to this career, per the DMDC Military Crosswalk.

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where office clerks, general make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA2.15× national avg
  2. 2Lubbock, TX2.06× national avg
  3. 3Lewiston, ID-WA1.84× national avg
  4. 4St. George, UT1.78× national avg
  5. 5Casper, WY1.63× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Office Clerks, General →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.

General Office Occupations and Clerical Services

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →