Entry Level Data Entry Clerk

As an entry level data entry clerk for about a year now, it is time for me to stop asking questions about data entry clerks and start imparting answers, like:
Not Me: So, what is your profession?
Me: Data entry
Not Me: Oh, what does that entail?
Me: Um, data entry
The beauty of “Data Entry;” that is the job title and description. Just like “beer brewer.” The kind of data being entered and the methods change, true, but it really boils down to just those two words. The first question is always the easy one, though.
Things like pay, benefits, content of data, etc. vary widely by company. Data entry is white collar, and it should not be too difficult to find a job in the field that pays over minimum wage (usually quite a bit more) and offers at least some benefits. If the job you are looking at does not fit that last description-you are looking in the wrong place.
Is it difficult? That depends on several factors, mostly your typing skills. Most, if not all places require applicants to hit a certain WPM to get hired at all, then maintain or even improve upon that with experience. Accuracy is also certainly going to be monitored, and in some cases may even be more important than speed. If typing fast and accurately comes easy to you, so should try data entry. If not, there is still hope. Some specific jobs may be off limits, but with practice most people should at least be able to reach the competency level of some company out there. There also a lot of sitting. As in, that is about all Data Entry people do. Not for people who need to be up and about “doing” things. In certain situations, this job could be perfect for either the “people person” or the loner, as some require constant customer interaction and some require little or none.
When going in for an entry level data entry job interview, be prepared to take some tests that measure, as stated above, accuracy and speed. You will be asked to copy data form one source to another, and that data will likely include things like addresses, random numbers and story segments. Also count on one of those tests where you have to determine whether column A matches Colum B (like 123 Main St:123 Main St. or 78969:78696). All tests will be timed. There are probably web sites out there that let you take these test for free, I would recommend trying a few first.
And finally…what about me? My job, specifically, is to read grocery ads from across the country and record data about each individual item that is being advertised in it. Why? Got me. Apparently somebody out there needs to know, or thinks they need to know this information enough to pay for it. I always stop myself before saying “well somebody has to do it” not only because that is a cliché, but because the truth of that statement is suspect. There is no customer contact at my position, which I think is great. Pay is nether bad nor particularly good, and though there is a lenient dress code they tend to be anal about a lot of other things (I once had to move my car because I parked backwards-no joke). There are literally hundreds of rules covering the ad coding itself; dozens of which are downright ridiculous, others are even contradictory. Still, it is not bad as far as jobs go, and I could in good conscience recommend it to most people.
According to Wikipedia, data entry positions are dwindling in numbers.