Best degree programs for Word Processors and Typists, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 116 schools train Word Processors and Typists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $49,280 median wage, 35,010 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 116 schools train word processors and typists, graduating 1,165 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is General Office Occupations and Clerical Services. The job pays a median of $49,280 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About word processors and typists
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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0408 | 1,140 | 97.9% | 114 | $25,993 | $9,500 |
| 2 | CIP 11.0602 | 25 | 2.1% | 2 | $46,716 | $8,690 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What word processors and typists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $56,380 | 10,270 | 2.51× | 29 | 483 |
| Texas | $47,720 | 290 | 0.09× | 14 | 220 |
| Wisconsin | $48,540 | 180 | 0.27× | 11 | 73 |
| Washington | $46,110 | 140 | 0.18× | 10 | 64 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $41,000 | 1,170 | 0.85× | 1 | 45 |
| Illinois | $45,490 | 490 | 0.36× | 6 | 34 |
| Coloradomoderate | $57,550 | 60 | 0.09× | 4 | 32 |
| Arizonalimited | $42,070 | — | — | 2 | 26 |
| Georgiamoderate | $31,450 | — | — | 3 | 26 |
| South Carolinalimited | $42,840 | 30 | 0.06× | 2 | 23 |
| West Virginiamoderate | $36,060 | 80 | 0.52× | 3 | 22 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $46,400 | 60 | 0.32× | 3 | 18 |
| New Yorklimited | $48,400 | 12,340 | 5.66× | 1 | 18 |
| Oregon | $52,420 | 40 | 0.09× | 5 | 18 |
| Minnesotalimited | $51,550 | 210 | 0.32× | 2 | 9 |
| Michiganlimited | $47,970 | 520 | 0.53× | 2 | 8 |
| Idaholimited | $49,930 | 60 | 0.31× | 1 | 7 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $53,740 | 350 | 0.42× | 3 | 7 |
| Missourilimited | $37,440 | 260 | 0.39× | 1 | 3 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $47,040 | 120 | 1.03× | 1 | 3 |
| Arkansaslimited | $43,010 | 40 | 0.12× | 1 | 2 |
| Iowalimited | $43,210 | 360 | 1.03× | 1 | 2 |
| Nevadalimited | $41,290 | 170 | 0.50× | 1 | 1 |
| Ohiolimited | $48,670 | 310 | 0.25× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.
- Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.
- File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.
- Print and make copies of work.
- Transmit work electronically to other locations.
- Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.
- 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.
- Gather, register, and arrange the material to be typed, following instructions.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.5
- Active Listening3.3
- Writing3.3
- Monitoring3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Critical Thinking2.8
- Mathematics2.6
- Active Learning2.3
Knowledge areas
- Administrative4.8
- English Language4.3
- Customer and Personal Service4.2
- Computers and Electronics3.5
- Law and Government2.6
- Administration and Management2.4
Abilities
- Near Vision4.0
- Written Comprehension3.8
- Speech Recognition3.5
- Oral Comprehension3.4
- Written Expression3.3
- Oral Expression3.1
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.2
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.0
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.0
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work3.9
- Performing Administrative Activities3.9
- Documenting/Recording Information3.9
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Word Processor
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Word Processors and Typists2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0602Word Processing
- 52.0408General Office Occupations and Clerical Services
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Word Processor?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is General Office Occupations and Clerical Services, which awarded 1,140 degrees in 2024-25, 97.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Word Processor?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Operations Support and Assistant Services, Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications. Together they graduate about 1,165 people a year.
How much do word processors and typists earn?+
The median is $49,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $36,810 at the 10th percentile to $65,150 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for word processors and typists growing?+
BLS projects a -36.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 2,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
116 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do word processors and typists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Typist, Clerk Typist, Word Processor, Keyboard Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-9022.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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