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Word Processors and Typists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Use word processor, computer, or typewriter to type letters, reports, forms, or other material from rough draft, corrected copy, or voice recording. May perform other clerical duties as assigned.

Related: Court Reporters & Simultaneous Captioners Data Entry Keyers File Clerks Medical Transcriptionists Office Clerks, General

Industries: Government Education

Summary
Details

Collate pages of reports and other documents.
Type correspondence, reports, text and other written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation, or previous versions, using a computer, word processor, or typewriter.
Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes.
Keep records of work performed.
Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required.
File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.
Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns.
Manage schedules and set dates, times, and locations for meetings and appointments.
Gather, register, and arrange the material to be typed, following instructions.
Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required.
Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.
Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.
Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing.
Work with technical material, preparing statistical reports, planning and typing statistical tables, and combining and rearranging material from different sources.
Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator.
Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.
Transmit work electronically to other locations.
Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.
Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.
Print and make copies of work.
Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator.
Adjust settings for format, page layout, line spacing, and other style requirements.
Operate and resupply printers and computers, changing print wheels or fluid cartridges, adding paper, and loading blank tapes, cards, or disks into equipment.
Operate and resupply printers and computers, changing print wheels or fluid cartridges, adding paper, and loading blank tapes, cards, or disks into equipment.
Work with technical material, preparing statistical reports, planning and typing statistical tables, and combining and rearranging material from different sources.

Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.

English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

41750/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

20.07/hr

Currently Employed

190

Yearly Projected Openings

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Dependability
Independence
Initiative

Desktop calculator
Franking or postage machines
Laser fax machine
Paper shredding machines or accessories
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Typewriters

Accounting software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Medical software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Word Processors and Typists

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