Office & Administrative Support
File Clerks
Also called: Claims Clerk, Clerk, Clerk Typist, Documentation Specialist
US median pay
$43,600
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-15.8%
declining
Openings a year (US)
5,600
76,200 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.
What they do day to day
- Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
- Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
- Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
- Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
- Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
- Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
- Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
- Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.
- Answer questions about records or files.
- Assign and record or stamp identification numbers or codes to index materials for filing.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Service Orientation3.1/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.0/5
- Coordination2.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.8/5
- Negotiation2.4/5
- Systems Evaluation2.2/5
Knowledge
- Administrative4.5/5
- English Language4.3/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2/5
- Law and Government3.4/5
- Computers and Electronics3.3/5
- Telecommunications3.3/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Associate's degree38%
- High school diploma30%
- Some college23%
Who this job suits
Mostly Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.