Overview
All Keyboard Operators
-
$1,035 Weekly Pay
-
Stable Future Growth
-
64,200 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
53% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
40 hours Average full-time
-
42 years Average age
-
84% female Gender Share
Keyboard Operators input and process text and data, and prepare, edit and generate documents for storage, processing, publication and transmission.
You can work as a Keyboard Operator without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as secretarial and clerical studies, keyboarding, business and management and information technology.
Tasks
- entering data and codes required to process information
- retrieving, confirming and updating data in storage and keeping records of data input
- taking verbatim records of proceedings in rapid shorthand using computerised equipment and shorthand-writing machines
- transcribing information recorded in shorthand and on sound recording equipment, and proofreading and correcting copy
- reading portions of transcripts during trials and other proceedings on request of Judges and other officials
- reproducing the spoken word, environmental sounds and song lyrics as captions for television programming, and the deaf and hearing impaired
- preparing reports, letters and similar material for publication and electronic transmission
- sorting outgoing material and preparing documents for transmission
Prospects
The number of people working as Keyboard Operators (in their main job) grew strongly over 5 years:
from 58,100 in 2014 to 64,200 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very large occupation.
- Location: Keyboard Operators work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: They work in many industries such as Health Care and Social Assistance; Public Administration and Safety; and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,035 per week (lower than the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Around half work full-time (53%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 40 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 42 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 84% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You can work as a Keyboard Operator without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as secretarial and clerical studies, keyboarding, business and management and information technology.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Business Services VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Keyboard Operators who are accurate, pay attention to detail and have strong computer literacy.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Wrist-finger speed
Make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Speed of recognition
Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Multitasking
Do two or more things at the same time.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Estimating amounts, costs and resources
Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-9021.00 - Data Entry Keyers.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Automation of tasks
Do tasks that are mostly automated.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-9021.00 - Data Entry Keyers.
All Keyboard Operators
-
$1,035 Weekly Pay
-
Stable Future Growth
-
64,200 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
53% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
40 hours Average full-time
-
42 years Average age
-
84% female Gender Share
Keyboard Operators input and process text and data, and prepare, edit and generate documents for storage, processing, publication and transmission.
You can work as a Keyboard Operator without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as secretarial and clerical studies, keyboarding, business and management and information technology.
Tasks
- entering data and codes required to process information
- retrieving, confirming and updating data in storage and keeping records of data input
- taking verbatim records of proceedings in rapid shorthand using computerised equipment and shorthand-writing machines
- transcribing information recorded in shorthand and on sound recording equipment, and proofreading and correcting copy
- reading portions of transcripts during trials and other proceedings on request of Judges and other officials
- reproducing the spoken word, environmental sounds and song lyrics as captions for television programming, and the deaf and hearing impaired
- preparing reports, letters and similar material for publication and electronic transmission
- sorting outgoing material and preparing documents for transmission
The number of people working as Keyboard Operators (in their main job) grew strongly over 5 years:
from 58,100 in 2014 to 64,200 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very large occupation.
- Location: Keyboard Operators work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: They work in many industries such as Health Care and Social Assistance; Public Administration and Safety; and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,035 per week (lower than the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Around half work full-time (53%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 40 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 42 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 84% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You can work as a Keyboard Operator without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as secretarial and clerical studies, keyboarding, business and management and information technology.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Business Services VET training pathways.
Employers look for Keyboard Operators who are accurate, pay attention to detail and have strong computer literacy.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Wrist-finger speed
Make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Speed of recognition
Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Multitasking
Do two or more things at the same time.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Estimating amounts, costs and resources
Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-9021.00 - Data Entry Keyers.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Automation of tasks
Do tasks that are mostly automated.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
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Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
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Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
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Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
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Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
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Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-9021.00 - Data Entry Keyers.