All About Office Machine Operators
Occupation Description Operate one or more of a variety of office machines, such as photocopying, photographic, and duplicating machines, or other office machines.
A Day in the Life of an Office Machine Operator
- Clean machines, perform minor repairs, and report major repair needs.
- Sort, assemble, and proof completed work.
- Move heat units and clamping frames over screen beds to form Braille impressions on pages, raising frames to release individual copies.
- Load machines with materials such as blank paper or film.
- Operate office machines such as high speed business photocopiers, readers, scanners, addressing machines, stencil-cutting machines, microfilm readers or printers, folding and inserting machines, bursters, and binder machines.
- Place original copies in feed trays, feed originals into feed rolls, or position originals on tables beneath camera lenses.
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Office Machine Operator Required Skills
Office Machine Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Copy Center Operator
- Photocopy Operator
- Reprographics Associate
- Microfiche Camera Operator
- Offset Duplicating Machine Operator
Job Demand for Office Machine Operators
In the United States, there were 59,900 jobs for Office Machine Operator in 2016. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Office Machine Operator. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 5,100 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Office Machine Operator are Nevada, Maryland, and Washington. Watch out if you plan on working in Vermont, New Mexico, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Office Machine Operator Salary
The typical yearly salary for Office Machine Operators is somewhere between $22,350 and $49,920.

Office Machine Operators who work in District of Columbia, Massachusetts, or Illinois, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Office Machine Operators in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $31,720 |
Arizona | $34,870 |
Arkansas | $26,980 |
California | $38,170 |
Colorado | $36,910 |
Connecticut | $39,060 |
Delaware | $31,890 |
District of Columbia | $48,840 |
Florida | $31,930 |
Georgia | $34,060 |
Hawaii | $34,330 |
Idaho | $28,580 |
Illinois | $41,830 |
Indiana | $33,930 |
Iowa | $34,770 |
Kansas | $31,720 |
Kentucky | $29,890 |
Louisiana | $32,850 |
Maine | $33,190 |
Maryland | $38,110 |
Massachusetts | $42,360 |
Michigan | $34,570 |
Minnesota | $36,380 |
Mississippi | $31,190 |
Missouri | $35,480 |
Montana | $31,860 |
Nebraska | $35,280 |
Nevada | $31,950 |
New Hampshire | $30,940 |
New Jersey | $32,840 |
New Mexico | $35,270 |
New York | $36,180 |
North Carolina | $31,370 |
North Dakota | $32,320 |
Ohio | $31,830 |
Oklahoma | $29,400 |
Oregon | $37,860 |
Pennsylvania | $33,200 |
Rhode Island | $32,690 |
South Carolina | $32,210 |
South Dakota | $27,460 |
Tennessee | $30,490 |
Texas | $31,890 |
Utah | $30,250 |
Vermont | $31,790 |
Virginia | $35,060 |
Washington | $34,770 |
West Virginia | $30,370 |
Wisconsin | $31,010 |
Wyoming | $28,150 |
What Tools & Technology do Office Machine Operators Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Office Machine Operators:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Access
- Data entry software
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- Microsoft Publisher
Becoming an Office Machine Operator
Individuals working as an Office Machine Operator have obtained the following education levels:

How Long Does it Take to Become an Office Machine Operator?

Where do Office Machine Operators Work?

Below are examples of industries where Office Machine Operators work:

You May Also Be Interested In…
Are you already one of the many Office Machine Operator in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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