Career
Order clerks
Take and process customer orders.
$46,170
Median pay
-17.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
6,300
Openings a year
Some college, no degree
Typical education
Varies
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.
- Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.
- Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs.
- Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications.
- Receive and respond to customer complaints.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Service Orientation.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
Varies of education after high school (some college, no degree), for a median of $46,170 a year and 6,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- ReceptionistCIP 52.0406
- General Office Occupations and Clerical ServicesCIP 52.0408
- Customer Service Support/Call Center/Teleservice OperationCIP 52.0411
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks$45,260 · -7.6%
- Postal Service Clerks$62,130 · -0.3%
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$69,990 · +2.7%
- Customer Service Representatives$44,770 · -5.3%
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks$59,650 · -1.3%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.