thumb|A data entry clerk
A data entry clerk, also known as data preparation and control operator, data registration and control operator, and data preparation and registration operator, is a member of staff employed to enter or update data into a computer system. Data is often entered into a computer from paper documents using a keyboard. The keyboards used can often have special keys and multiple colors to help in the task and speed up the work. Proper ergonomics at the workstation is a common topic considered.
The data entry clerk may also use a mouse, and a manually-fed scanner may be involved.
Speed and accuracy, not necessarily in that order, are the key measures of the job.
An example of this system would be one commonly used to document health insurance claims, such as for Medicaid in the United States. In many systems, the hand-written forms are first scanned into digital images (JPEG, PNG, bitmap, etc.). These files are then processed by the optical character recognition system, where many fields are completed by the computerized optical scanner. When the OCR software has low confidence in a data field, it is flagged for review – not the entire record but just the single field. The data entry clerk then manually reviews the data already entered by OCR, corrects it if needed, and fills in any missing data Staying focused and speed are also required.
, the median pay was between $19,396 and $34,990 in the United States.
Education and training
For the job as a data entry clerk, competent math and English skills may be necessary. The worker will need to be very familiar with office software such as word processors, databases, and spreadsheets. One must have quickness, focus, and customer service skills.