Office Clerks, General vs Office Machine Operators, Except Computer: $45K vs $41K Median Pay

Office Clerks, General vs Office Machine Operators, Except Computer: what changes?

Consider Office Clerks, General if you want to perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Consider Office Machine Operators, Except Computer if you would rather operate one or more of a variety of office machines, such as photocopying, photographic, and duplicating machines, or other office machines. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Office Clerks, General and Office Machine Operators, Except Computer. 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

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

Office Machine Operators, Except Computer

National median pay (2025): $40,960
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: Read job orders to determine the type of work to be done, the quantities to be produced, and the materials needed.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,100

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 14.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Office Machine Operators, Except Computer 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 2,100 annual openings for Office Machine Operators, Except Computer.

Office Clerks, General has the edge on median pay

Office Clerks, General is at $45,010, compared with $40,960 for Office Machine Operators, Except Computer.

Office Clerks, General has the edge on projected growth

Office Clerks, General is at -6% projected growth, compared with -14.9% projected growth for Office Machine Operators, Except Computer.

49.4/ 100

Office Clerks, General

26.4/ 100

Office Machine Operators, Except Computer

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

Office Clerks, General vs Office Machine Operators, Except Computer

Dimension	Office Clerks, General	Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
Median pay (2025)	$45,010	$40,960
Pay percentile	18.1 percentile	12.2 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-6%	-14.9%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	249,000	2,100
2025 employment	2,600,000	25,800
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 Office Clerks, General brief Read Office Machine Operators, Except Computer brief

Office Clerks, General vs Office Machine Operators, Except Computer: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Office Clerks, General

Office Machine Operators, Except Computer

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

Office Clerks, General vs Office Machine Operators, Except Computer

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