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Boston Career Explorer

Office and Administrative Support

Data Entry Keyers

Operate data entry device, such as keyboard or photo composing perforator. Duties may include verifying data and preparing materials for printing.

Also called: Data Capture Specialist, Data Entry Clerk, Data Entry Machine Operator, Data Entry Operator, Data Entry Specialist, Data Transcriber

Median pay in Greater Boston
$47,640
$22.90/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
1,460
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−27.2%
120 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$36,400$41,970$47,640$54,170$57,880

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Locate and correct data entry errors, or report them to supervisors.
  • Compile, sort, and verify the accuracy of data before it is entered.
  • Compare data with source documents, or re-enter data in verification format to detect errors.
  • Store completed documents in appropriate locations.
  • Select materials needed to complete work assignments.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure62 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 54
  • Language-model AIOE 51
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 80

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is moderate, and AI tools are already used a good deal in it. Tools that read documents and capture data can do much of the typing and checking. Massachusetts projects 27.2% fewer of these jobs from 2024 to 2034. Tasks that need a person's judgment, like fixing odd errors and handling paper files, are touched less.

Likely to change

  • Typing data in from documents
  • Checking entries against source documents

Still relies on people

  • Resolving unusual errors and reporting problems
  • Choosing materials and filing finished documents

What federal projections say

“Capital/labor substitution - share decreases as organizations increasingly manage, store, and analyze large quantities of data, requiring traditional data entry methods to be replaced by automated processes through use of expanded technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), mobile data capture, and optical character recognition (OCR).”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

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    Your habit of checking accuracy and keeping records carries over. This job pays about $47,750, and Massachusetts projects 9.1% growth.

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    High school diploma or equivalent

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  • Printing Press Operators

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    Pay difference
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    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston

Related occupations

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