How To Become A Document Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a document clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A document clerk can work anywhere there are documents--and many places have many documents to manage. Depending on their place of work, whether they're in a medical office, government agency, or somewhere else, the document clerk needs to be aware of specific procedures for technical documents.

No matter where they work, document clerks need to be highly organized. They keep track of physical and digital documents, cull outdated files, and verify information when needed. Document clerks also need to be familiar with scanners and copiers, security systems for sensitive documents, and typing programs.

Most document clerks don't have bachelor's degrees. For this line of work, on-the-job experience and proven organizational skills are more important than a diploma. Administrative skills and a knack for office procedures are very important, as well as the ability to be discreet if a document clerk is working in a sensitive industry. The document clerk should probably also prepare for paper cuts.

ScoreDocument ClerkUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,597

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

7.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%

Asian 5.39%

Black or African American 11.15%

Hispanic or Latino 15.89%

Unknown 4.52%

White 62.20%

Gender

female 72.27%

male 27.73%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a document clerk

Explore document clerk education requirements

Most common document clerk degrees

Bachelor's

42.4 %

Associate

22.2 %

High School Diploma

19.9 %

Start to develop specific document clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Office Equipment	24.51%
Word Processing	11.44%
GMP	10.93%
Data Entry Operations	8.10%
Computer System	7.50%

Complete relevant document clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New document clerks learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a document clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real document clerk resumes.

Research document clerk duties and responsibilities

Maintain and manage database with clinical details and digital radiology imaging.
Prepare, index and QA various paper documents for scanning to electronic format.
Upload and send x-ray images for doctors to view and compare for radiology reports while maintaining schedule and patients charts.
Scan and convert documents to PDF.

Prepare your document clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your document clerk resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a document clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable document clerk resume templates

Build a professional document clerk resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your document clerk resume.