Data entry may be a good career to consider if you have excellent keyboarding skills, a passion for precision, and the ability to perform well under pressure. Since employers from a wide range of industries hire for these positions, a career in data entry can lead you into a variety of industries.
What is Data Entry?
Employees in the data entry sector add, verify, and edit electronic data. Every sector has a requirement for qualified data entry technicians. Throughout the course of a business day, many firms require employees to transcribe meeting notes, add raw data to databases, and convert sales numbers into electronic formats. For daily activities to be well-organized and efficient, data entry is essential..
Working with various electronic data formats and using equipment used by experts to input and update data, including a keyboard, are tasks associated with a data entry job. This industry offers a variety of jobs, including those for typists, coders, transcribers, and word processors.
This industry offers a variety of payment options for jobs. You might get paid by project, keystrokes per minute, keystrokes per word, keystrokes per hour, or hourly if you start working in this field. Fast typists are likely to make more money in this field because data entry pay rates are typically based on your typing speed.
Types of Data Entry Jobs: Common Data Entry Job Titles
There are several distinct responsibilities that can be performed in data entry jobs. Depending on the business, the tasks may differ, and employers may also include additional (related or unrelated) general office functions. The following are the types of data entry jobs:
- Data Entry Clerk
This position entails basic data entry, typically using a keyboard, of either alphabetic or numeric data from one format to another.
- Data Entry Keyer
Often from other documents like hard copies or paper documents, this function enters or scans numbers or data into computer software systems.
- Transcriptionist
This type of work typically entails listening to recordings and trancribing the information into reports or other word documents. It is not typically a profession that relies heavily on numbers.
- Word Processor/Typist
One of the main responsibilities of this position is basic typing, which includes entering data for text documents, correspondence, and reports.
What Does a Remote Data Entry Clerk Do?
A remote data entry clerk’s primary responsibilities are entering information and data into an internet database. You will be required to fill up paperwork, spreadsheets, records, or other files as part of this work from home employment. Data entry clerks are frequently expected by employers to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data before entering it into the system. In some roles, you may also be in charge of transcribing notes, audio files, or other media in addition to backing up the data. It might be part of your job to use charts to represent data or to respond to information requests from coworkers.
The majority of data entry clerks can anticipate performing the following duties throughout their shift:
- Input information: A data entry clerk’s main duty is to enter data into the organization’s database.
- Update entries: In addition to entering data, data entry clerks are frequently responsible for making sure the data is accurate and updated as necessary.
- Maintain the database: Some data entry clerks possess the technical knowledge and abilities necessary to guarantee the database is operating properly.
- Record inconsistencies: The data entry clerk must note and notify their manager of any discrepancies or errors they detect in their data.
- Get rid of duplicates: Information can occasionally be found twice. Data entry clerks make sure the database doesn’t include any duplicate entries.
- Produce reports: Some data entry clerks compile information from requests into reports for other team members.
- Carry out administrative duties: Some data entry clerks also carry out essential administrative duties like taking phone calls and filing documents, depending on the size of the company and the volume of fresh information to be added to the database.
Nearly always, data entry clerks are employed in an office setting. Some data entry clerks work from home rather than an office due to the increasing prevalence of remote employment. Almost all data entry clerks carry out their responsibilities using laptops, tablets, or mobile devices that are connected to the internet.
Skills Required for Data Entry
Workers with both technical and soft skills who are detail-oriented are needed for data entry positions. Data entry specialists are ready to enter and keep data accurately and effectively thanks to this crucial combination. These skills are applicable regardless of the industry, even though the data’s nature varies.
Technical Skills
Any data entry job requires technical skills. Typing, word processing, and spreadsheet manipulation are skills that employees must grasp. Additionally, they must possess great research skills. The following technical abilities are necessary for data entry careers:
- Comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Excel or comparable database applications
- Expertise in word processors, such as Microsoft Word
- Proficient typing and transcription abilities, especially the ability to type quickly.
- The capacity for data collection and research
Soft Skills
Soft skills are important for success in data entry jobs, as they are in any field. Technical proficiency in a data entry position must be accompanied by professional qualities including attention to detail, communication, and organization. Employers might favor applicants with the following skills:
- Precision and focus on the details
- Effective written and verbal communication abilities
- Planning ahead and organizing
- Multi-tasking
Industries that Hire Data Entry Jobs
Medical and Health
Hospitals, medical facilities, diagnostic labs, and clinics are a few examples of these employers.
Administrative
Many data entry workers work in an office environment (or a home office). In some positions, part of the job description may include taking calls and handling routine receptionist tasks.
Accounting and Finance
Jobs involving tax preparation, auditing, corporate finances, payroll, and accounts payable are available at financial institutions.
Government and Politics
Local and state governments, as well as the federal government, frequently employ precise data entry specialists for tasks like public record-keeping and elections.
Retail and Sales
Employers in the retail and sales sectors hire for flexible data entry positions since inventory, online sales, collection, and logistics can play significant roles in these sectors.
Pros and Cons of Remote Data Entry
The emergence of self-service data analytics has completely changed how businesses and organizations manage their data. Business intelligence, as it is presently known, is the process of compiling data entry, storage, and analysis to provide information that can be used by executives, managers, and employees to improve business operations. Data input, where workers or employees add, validate, and amend electronic data, serves as the system’s beginning point. These information must be saved digitally and includes meeting minutes, sales numbers, performance metrics, and other details.
There has never been a greater need for remote data entry employment because businesses are all seeking to improve their business intelligence and because the COVID-19 pandemic’s consequences have made work-from-home arrangements the “new norm.”
Data Entry Employment Skills
Simple data entry tasks include using a computer to enter various types of data by a data entry clerk. The jobs that fall under the category of data entry include typist, coder, transcriber, and word processor.
Data entry skills can vary depending on the specifics of the job description. A transcriber needs to be good at multitasking and listening, whereas a typist needs to be proficient in information comprehension and keyboarding. On the other hand, encoders need to be able to think abstractly and pay attention to details.
Regardless of the work involved, high school or college education can be advantageous for jobs in the professional field of data entry. Like other careers, getting a data entry job—whether it’s in-house or remote—requires having the appropriate experiences and credentials.
Work-from-Home Arrangements
Some data entry jobs are on-premise employment, which are office-based, full-time jobs that require people to report to a specified place on a set schedule each day.
There have been more remote data entry jobs in recent years thanks to the ongoing advancements in telecommunications technology. This can be due to the widespread use of IT outsourcing services, particularly in Asian nations like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore.
Due to significant closures, travel bans, and other restrictions put in place by governments in response to COVID-19 in 2020, several institutions were compelled to implement unusual work-from-home arrangements. This boosted the number of people and businesses that made the most of working from home, accelerated the use of digital technologies, and highlighted the advantages and potential of the arrangement.
During the pandemic, both businesses and their workforces looked into the advantages of remote work and discovered how it may provide many freedoms like flexible working hours, project-based contracts, and part-time employment. These agreements turned out to be mutually beneficial because they improved working conditions for many employees while reducing overhead expenses for some firms.
Emergent Challenges
The COVID 19 epidemic has brought about a new normal for the world, and remote employment is definitely here to stay. There are at least two data entry challenges in this new system.
As manual operations, data input services frequently include human error, which could produce unreliable results. This is particularly true for people who work from home, where they could be distracted, or if their organization has not yet implemented a purposeful remote setup culture for their staff.
As a result of the pandemic’s rising demand for distant data entry tasks, there are now more IT outsourcing companies than ever before. Naturally, a lot of fraudulent businesses also profit from these developments. These dishonest data entry companies attract prospects with ambiguous or high salaries for little labor before demanding payment for additional training or certification requirements, among other dubious tactics.
How to Become a Data Entry Clerk
These are the measures to take if you want to work as a data entry clerk:
- Complete high school
For its data entry clerks, the majority of businesses require a high school education or the GED equivalent. Take computer science or typing classes in high school to hone your data entry skills and get ready for a career in the industry.
- Develop skills
Take the time to gain the skills necessary to flourish as a data entry clerk while you’re still in high school or after you graduate. Work on honing your typing, time management, and organization abilities—all of which are necessary for a data entry clerk.
- Gain experience
Before applying for jobs, look for ways to enhance your experience for your resume. Consider volunteering to keep meeting notes and member roster logs for your school or neighborhood organizations. Your CV can benefit from any experience you have collecting, reviewing, and organizing data.
- Consider college
Before beginning their careers, some data entry clerks enroll in college and graduate with an associate’s or, sporadically, a bachelor’s degree. The majority of data entry clerks who decide to go to college choose a business or related major.
- Earn a certificate
A helpful strategy to demonstrate to potential employers that you are qualified for the role is to obtain a certificate in data entry or a comparable field of study. For data entry clerks, numerous community colleges and internet businesses offer training programs that lead to certificates. While some are general to computer programs, others are program-specific.
Conclusion
In nations like the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, demand for online data entry employment has surged as a result of the normalization of the work-from-home digital shift. Despite the difficulties that may arise, both for employees and their employers, the advantages exceed the disadvantages.