The Educational Options of Data entry jobs

TRAINING, OTHER QUALIFICATIONS, AND ADVANCEMENT
Many data entry jobs and information processing workers are hired right out of high school. Most training occurs on the job, and can be learned in a short period of time.

Education and training. Employers generally hire high school graduates who meet their requirements for accuracy and keyboarding speed. Increasingly, employers also expect applicants to have training or experience in word processing or data entry tasks. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar skills are important, as is familiarity with standard office equipment and procedures.
Students acquire skills in keyboarding and in the use of word processing, spreadsheet, and database management computer software in high schools, community colleges, business schools, temporary help agencies, or self-teaching aids such as books, tapes, and Internet tutorials.

Advancement. For many people, a job as a data entry and information processing worker is their first job after high school or after a period of full-time family responsibilities. The jobs’ specifications frequently serve as a steppingstone to higher paying jobs with increased responsibilities. Large companies and government agencies usually have training programs to help administrative employees upgrade their skills and advance to higher level jobs. It is common for data entry and information processing workers to transfer to other administrative jobs, such as secretary, administrative assistant, or statistical clerk, or to be promoted to a supervisory job in a word processing or data entry center.

EMPLOYMENT
Data entry and information processing workers held about 492,000 jobs in 2006 and were employed in virtually every sector of the economy. Of the data entry and information processing workers, 313,000 were data entry keyers and 79,000 were word processors and typists. About 1 out of 5 data entry and information processing workers held jobs in firms providing administrative and support services, including temporary help and word processing agencies, and another 15 percent worked for State or local government.

JOB OUTLOOK
Although employment of data entry and information processing workers is expected to decline, job prospects will be favorable for those who have good technical skills, familiarity with office equipment, and keyboarding speed and accuracy.

Employment change. Overall employment of data entry and information processing workers is projected to moderately decline by 7 percent through the year 2016. Although data entry and information processing workers are affected by productivity gains stemming from organizational restructuring and the implementation of new technologies, projected employment change differs among these workers. Employment of word processors and typists is expected to decline because of the proliferation of personal computers, which allows other workers to perform duties formerly assigned to word processors and typists.

Most professionals and managers, for example, now use desktop personal computers to do their own word processing. However, because technologies affecting data entry keyers tend to be costlier to implement, employment of these workers will decline less than word processors and typists. Employment growth of data entry keyers will be dampened by productivity gains as various data-capturing technologies, such as barcode scanners, voice recognition technologies, and sophisticated character recognition readers, become more prevalent. These technologies can be applied to a variety of business
transactions, such as inventory tracking, invoicing, and placing orders.

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