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
- Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants$74,260
- First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers$66,140
- Brokerage clerks$62,940
- Postal service clerks$61,630
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks$57,770
- Postal service mail carriers$57,490
- Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators$56,530
- Payroll and timekeeping clerks$55,290
- Legal secretaries and administrative assistants$54,140
- Desktop publishers$53,620
- Financial clerks, all other$52,150
- Eligibility interviewers, government programs$51,500
- Statistical assistants$51,440
- Public safety telecommunicators$50,730
- Communications equipment operators, all other$49,910
- Cargo and freight agents$49,900
- Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping$49,440
- Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks$49,210
- Proofreaders and copy markers$49,210
- Meter readers, utilities$49,180
- Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks$49,130
- Loan interviewers and clerks$48,950
- Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance$48,880
- Procurement clerks$48,510
- Insurance claims and policy processing clerks$48,450
- Information and record clerks, all other$48,360
- Word processors and typists$47,850
- Court, municipal, and license clerks$47,700
- Billing and posting clerks$47,170
- Correspondence clerks$46,740
- New accounts clerks$46,610
- Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive$46,290
- Bill and account collectors$46,040
- Office and administrative support workers, all other$46,040
- Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping$45,650
- Order clerks$44,660
- Medical secretaries and administrative assistants$44,640
- Interviewers, except eligibility and loan$43,830
- Office clerks, general$43,630
- Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks$43,190
- Customer service representatives$42,830
- Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks$41,460
- File clerks$41,270
- Data entry keyers$39,850
- Tellers$39,340
- Telephone operators$39,130
- Office machine operators, except computer$39,020
- Switchboard operators, including answering service$38,370
- Couriers and messengers$38,340
- Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service$38,150
- Receptionists and information clerks$37,230
- Gambling cage workers$36,990
- Library assistants, clerical$36,010
- Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks$34,270
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.