How To Become A Clerical Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a clerical worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a clerical worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.09 an hour? That's $31,390 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -130,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Clerical Worker?

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

Professor, West Virginia State University

I would say it's important to be very attentive to the way you communicate with your employers, managers, and co-workers. Even sending an e-mail can be an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and communication skills. Some people think that no one knows how to write anymore, or how to communicate in a professional way. I don't think that's true. But we don't always think about how our writing can be a tool to communicate our competence and seriousness. If you know how to write and communicate professionally-which college grads do-then make sure to demonstrate that in the workplace.

ScoreClerical WorkerUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,390

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate -5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.14%

Asian 7.68%

Black or African American 10.50%

Hispanic or Latino 20.56%

Unknown 4.86%

White 55.25%

Gender

female 76.97%

male 23.03%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress Level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.3

Complexity Level is basic

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.1

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a clerical worker

Explore clerical worker education requirements

Most common clerical worker degrees

Bachelor's

41.1 %

High School Diploma

25.2 %

Associate

19.7 %

Start to develop specific clerical worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	24.44%
Scheduling Appointments	17.73%
Customer Service	11.10%
Telephone Calls	7.79%
Database Systems	5.33%

Complete relevant clerical worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clerical workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clerical worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clerical worker resumes.

Research clerical worker duties and responsibilities

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Handle customers at the front windows
Schedule contracts of windows sell with installers.
Prepare court subpoenas and criminal dockets for court.

Prepare your clerical worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clerical worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clerical worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Clerical Worker Resume templates

Build a professional Clerical Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Clerical Worker resume.

Apply for clerical worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a clerical worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do clerical workers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Clerical Worker reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Pros

The interaction with people and running an office

Cons

the pay, the hours and no one I mean one gives you credit for doing a job well done.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019