Library Assistants, Clerical vs Office Clerks, General: $37K vs $45K Median Pay

Library Assistants, Clerical vs Office Clerks, General: what changes?

Consider Library Assistants, Clerical if you want to compile records, and sort, shelve, issue, and receive library materials such as books, electronic media, pictures, cards, slides and microfilm. Consider Office Clerks, General if you would rather perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Library Assistants, Clerical and Office Clerks, General. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Library Assistants, Clerical

National median pay (2025): $36,910
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Sort books, publications, and other items according to established procedure and return them to shelves, files, or other designated storage areas.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 12,300

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 6.4% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Library Assistants, Clerical brief

Office Clerks, General

National median pay (2025): $45,010
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 249,000

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Office Clerks, General brief

How the national numbers differ

Office Clerks, General has the edge on annual openings

Office Clerks, General is at 249,000 annual openings, compared with 12,300 annual openings for Library Assistants, Clerical.

Office Clerks, General has the edge on median pay

Office Clerks, General is at $45,010, compared with $36,910 for Library Assistants, Clerical.

Office Clerks, General has the edge on projected growth

Office Clerks, General is at -6% projected growth, compared with -6.4% projected growth for Library Assistants, Clerical.

36.9/ 100

Library Assistants, Clerical

49.4/ 100

Office Clerks, General

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Library Assistants, Clerical vs Office Clerks, General

Dimension	Library Assistants, Clerical	Office Clerks, General
Median pay (2025)	$36,910	$45,010
Pay percentile	6.5 percentile	18.1 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-6.4%	-6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	12,300	249,000
2025 employment	89,500	2,600,000
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Library Assistants, Clerical brief Read Office Clerks, General brief

Library Assistants, Clerical vs Office Clerks, General: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Library Assistants, Clerical

Office Clerks, General

How the national numbers differ

Office Clerks, General has the edge on annual openings

Office Clerks, General has the edge on median pay

Office Clerks, General has the edge on projected growth

Library Assistants, Clerical vs Office Clerks, General

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