Career Explorer Office and admin
Changing shape
Office clerks, general
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.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 2% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by -6.0% by 2035, expected to shrink.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $45,010
- Job growth to 2035
- -6.0%
- Openings a year
- 249,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 2.6 million
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
- Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- Respond to customer problems or inquiries
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Maintain operational records
- Sort materials or products
- Distribute materials, supplies, or resources
What the work looks like
- Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.
- Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages.
- Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints.
- Collect, count, and disburse money, do basic bookkeeping, and complete banking transactions.
- Complete and mail bills, contracts, policies, invoices, or checks.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as increased use of technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and electronic filing systems, automate some clerical functions and reduce the need for individuals to perform these duties.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Legal secretaries and administrative assistantsChanging shape, Index 9, -5.2%
- Information and record clerks, all otherChanging shape, Index 7, +0.8%
- Communications equipment operators, all otherChanging shape, Index 5, +1.0%
- Financial clerks, all otherChanging shape, Index 5, 0.0%
Also known as: Clerk, Office Assistant, Office Clerk, Office Services Specialist, Administrative Clerk (Admin Clerk), Clerical Aide, Clerical Assistant, General Clerk.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.