Career field
Office & Administrative Support careers
Occupations that coordinate, record, and support office operations. CampusPin lists 54 office & administrative support occupations, with median pay ranging from $34,270 to $74,260 per year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). Median pay is occupation-wide, not a starting wage or a guarantee.
Occupations
54
indexed BLS occupations
Median pay range
$34,270–$74,260
BLS 2024, occupation-wide
Typical pay (midpoint)
$47,775
median of these medians
Most common entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
across 54 occupations
Projected to grow fastest
BLS projected employment change, 2024–2034.
Largest by employment
BLS employment estimate, 2024.
Typical entry-level education
How many of these occupations BLS classifies at each typical entry-level education. Many roles also have experience or licensure requirements beyond a degree.
- High school diploma or equivalent: 45
- No formal educational credential: 3
- Associate's degree: 2
- Bachelor's degree: 2
- Some college, no degree: 2
Occupations in this field
Every occupation BLS places in this field, with median pay, the openings each is projected to average per year, its projected employment change, and the education most entrants hold. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first, which is the measure of how much hiring a field actually does rather than how much it pays.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer service representatives | $42,830 | 341,700 | -5.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Office clerks, general | $43,630 | 282,400 | -6.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | $46,290 | 202,800 | -1.6% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $49,210 | 170,000 | -5.8% | Some college, no degree |
| First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers | $66,140 | 144,500 | -0.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Receptionists and information clerks | $37,230 | 128,500 | 0% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Medical secretaries and administrative assistants | $44,640 | 85,900 | +4.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks | $43,190 | 69,300 | -7.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants | $74,260 | 50,000 | -1.6% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks | $34,270 | 43,600 | +3.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Billing and posting clerks | $47,170 | 42,200 | -0.4% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Production, planning, and expediting clerks | $57,770 | 34,100 | -1.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Tellers | $39,340 | 29,800 | -12.9% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Couriers and messengers | $38,340 | 27,900 | +8.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Office and administrative support workers, all other | $46,040 | 21,300 | -7.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Postal service mail carriers | $57,490 | 20,600 | -3.5% | No formal educational credential |
| Insurance claims and policy processing clerks | $48,450 | 20,300 | -3.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Legal secretaries and administrative assistants | $54,140 | 19,600 | -5.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Court, municipal, and license clerks | $47,700 | 18,500 | +3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance | $48,880 | 18,500 | -0.9% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Information and record clerks, all other | $48,360 | 17,800 | -0.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Interviewers, except eligibility and loan | $43,830 | 15,800 | -11.6% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks | $41,460 | 14,400 | +2.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Eligibility interviewers, government programs | $51,500 | 14,000 | +1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bill and account collectors | $46,040 | 13,700 | -10.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Loan interviewers and clerks | $48,950 | 13,300 | -2.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Payroll and timekeeping clerks | $55,290 | 13,000 | -16.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Library assistants, clerical | $36,010 | 12,800 | -6.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Public safety telecommunicators | $50,730 | 10,700 | +3.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Data entry keyers | $39,850 | 9,500 | -25.9% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping | $49,440 | 9,000 | -7.1% | Associate's degree |
| Cargo and freight agents | $49,900 | 8,800 | +8.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Order clerks | $44,660 | 8,000 | -17.2% | Some college, no degree |
| Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators | $56,530 | 7,800 | -8.4% | No formal educational credential |
| File clerks | $41,270 | 7,300 | -15.9% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service | $38,150 | 6,900 | -6.6% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Postal service clerks | $61,630 | 6,100 | -3.5% | No formal educational credential |
| Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping | $45,650 | 5,300 | -4.8% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Procurement clerks | $48,510 | 4,600 | -8.7% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Brokerage clerks | $62,940 | 4,100 | -9.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Financial clerks, all other | $52,150 | 4,000 | +1.4% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Office machine operators, except computer | $39,020 | 2,800 | -15.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Switchboard operators, including answering service | $38,370 | 2,800 | -26.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| New accounts clerks | $46,610 | 2,300 | -13.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Word processors and typists | $47,850 | 2,200 | -36.1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Proofreaders and copy markers | $49,210 | 1,900 | -0.6% | Bachelor's degree |
| Gambling cage workers | $36,990 | 1,300 | -5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Meter readers, utilities | $49,180 | 1,300 | -12% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks | $49,130 | 1,000 | -6.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Statistical assistants | $51,440 | 800 | -2.5% | Bachelor's degree |
| Correspondence clerks | $46,740 | 700 | -5.6% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Desktop publishers | $53,620 | 400 | -12.4% | Associate's degree |
| Telephone operators | $39,130 | 300 | -27.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Communications equipment operators, all other | $49,910 | 100 | +2.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024 wages and Employment Projections. “Most entrants hold” describes the education people already working in the occupation typically have. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Majors that lead into this field
CampusPin majors whose program maps to occupations in this field via the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk.
Frequently asked questions
What careers are in the office & administrative support field?
CampusPin lists 54 office & administrative support occupations from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, including Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers, Brokerage clerks, Postal service clerks. Each links to a career page with median pay, projected job growth, and typical entry-level education.
How much do office & administrative support careers pay?
Across these occupations, BLS 2024 median pay ranges from $34,270 to $74,260 per year, with a midpoint (the median of the occupations' medians) near $47,775. Median pay is occupation-wide, not a starting wage, and varies by state, employer, and experience.
What education do office & administrative support careers require?
Typical entry-level education varies by occupation; the most common in this field is high school diploma or equivalent. 45 occupations list high school diploma or equivalent; 3 occupations list no formal educational credential; 2 occupations list associate's degree; 2 occupations list bachelor's degree; 2 occupations list some college, no degree.
Which office & administrative support careers are projected to grow fastest?
Over 2024–2034, BLS projects the fastest growth for Cargo and freight agents (+8.5%), Couriers and messengers (+8.2%), Medical secretaries and administrative assistants (+4.2%), Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks (+3.7%), Public safety telecommunicators (+3.5%). Projections are BLS model estimates, not guarantees.
Put this field in context
The pay and growth numbers above are field-wide BLS medians and national projections across office & administrative support occupations, not a starting salary or a guarantee for any single job. These CampusPin guides explain how to read them and how a field connects to majors and college choices.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
How one major connects to many careers
A major points toward several occupations in a field, not a single destination.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Compare cost, earnings, and debt together
Weigh price, earnings, and debt side by side without reducing a field to one number.
Occupation data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (Employment Projections); wages are 2024 and projections cover 2024–2034. Figures are national, not institution-specific, and projections are estimates, not guarantees.