Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks build complex problem solving, service orientation and judgment and decision making skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping (91%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping | 91% | $50,610 | −13% | None |
| 2 | Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 85% | $54,210 | −7% | None |
| 3 | Tax Preparers | 85% | $54,920 | −6% | None |
| 4 | Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants | 84% | $76,590 | +31% | None |
| 5 | Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents | 83% | $62,370 | +7% | None |
| 6 | First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 83% | $69,500 | +19% | None |
| 7 | Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 82% | $47,540 | −18% | None |
| 8 | Office Clerks, General | 81% | $45,010 | −23% | None |
| 9 | Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 80% | $55,570 | −5% | None |
| 10 | Brokerage Clerks | 80% | $65,750 | +13% | None |
Compared with Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, median $58,260. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as payroll and timekeeping clerks (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
91% skill match · $50,610 · −13% pay
Persuasion · Negotiation · Management of Material Resources
85% skill match · $54,210 · −7% pay
Negotiation · Persuasion · Social Perceptiveness
85% skill match · $54,920 · −6% pay
Persuasion · Instructing · Management of Material Resources
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping (91% skill match, median $50,610), Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs (85% skill match, median $54,210) and Tax Preparers (85% skill match, median $54,920), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 12 pay more than payroll and timekeeping clerks at the median. The biggest increases: Financial Managers (+186%, $166,570), Administrative Services Managers (+96%, $114,130) and Budget Analysts (+57%, $91,640).
20 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.