Data Entry Operator Family
Career series with 4 positions across 4 levels
New Jersey classifies Data Entry Operator as a 4-level family, 4 titles in all, built for step-by-step advancement.
Entry is typically through Data Entry Operator 1, advancing through the ladder toward Data Entry Operator 4. Pay across the family spans $39,358 to $84,763, around the 19th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 188 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Treasury.
Data Entry Operator is a common next step after Health Data Specialist and Data Processing Systems Programmer.
Positions in This Family
- DATA ENTRY OPERATOR 1 (53292) $39,358 - $56,481/year
- DATA ENTRY OPERATOR 2 (53293) $41,070 - $59,027/year
- DATA ENTRY OPERATOR 3 (53294) $48,807 - $70,641/year
- DATA ENTRY OPERATOR 4 (53295) $58,222 - $84,763/year
What the Data Entry Operator family covers
Data Entry Operator covers 4 title codes arranged into 4 levels of responsibility. Its titles are common jurisdiction, meaning the same classification is used at the state level and by local civil service employers alike.
Technology classifications age badly, and New Jersey's show it. The plan still carries titles written around tape libraries, keypunch and input and output control, sitting alongside newer series for network administration, database work and software development. For an applicant that matters practically: an older title may describe duties nobody performs any more while the position itself has quietly become something else, so the specification is a weaker guide to the actual job here than it is in most families. Salaries also drift furthest from private-sector equivalents in this group, which is the reason the compendium allows advanced-step hiring for information processing titles.
The ladder, ordered by pay
The Data Entry Operator rungs, listed from the best paid down. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Data Entry Operator 4 — $58,222 to $84,763 (4 years of experience)
- Data Entry Operator 3 — $48,807 to $70,641 (2 years of experience)
- Data Entry Operator 2 — $41,070 to $59,027 (1 year of experience)
- Data Entry Operator 1 — $39,358 to $56,481
The distance from the bottom of Data Entry Operator 1 to the top of Data Entry Operator 4 is $45,405, an increase of about 115% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.
- Data Entry Operator 1: Under the close supervision of Data Entry Operator 4 or other supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency or local government agency…
- Data Entry Operator 2: Under the limited supervision of Data Entry Operator 4 or other supervisory official, in a state department, institution, or agency or local government…
- Data Entry Operator 3: Under the general supervision of Data Entry Operator 4 or other supervisory official, in a state department, institution, or agency or local government agency…
- Data Entry Operator 4: Under direction, of a higher level supervisory official in a state department, institution, or agency or local government agency, performing data entry…
Requirements across the family
None of the specifications in this family names a degree requirement, which places these titles among the New Jersey positions open to applicants without formal higher education. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 4 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 3 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination and 1 is non-competitive, appointed on proof of the stated qualifications rather than by examination. 1 title in this family is covered by the compendium's special incentive program, which lets an appointing authority hire a qualified candidate above the bottom step instead of starting them at step one. See the full list of incentive titles.
Who actually employs these titles
188 people appear on the state payroll under 4 of these titles, at 11 agencies. Treasury alone accounts for about 43% of them.
- Treasury — 81 employees
- Labor — 75 employees
- Human Services — 12 employees
- Health and Senior Services — 7 employees
- Election Law Enforcement — 4 employees
- Law and Public Safety — 2 employees
Those are the 6 largest of 11 agencies employing this family.
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $44,644 for Data Entry Operator 1 up to $74,204 for Data Entry Operator 4. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
These are common jurisdiction titles, which is the most flexible position to be in as an applicant: the same classification is used by state departments and by local civil service employers, so an eligible list built in one place still describes work you can do in the other. What common jurisdiction means.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Other classifications built on the same terms as Data Entry Operator. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.
- Data Entry Machine Operator (local jurisdiction)
- Principal Data Entry Machine Operator (local jurisdiction)
- Intermittent Data Entry Operator 1 Treasury ($39,358 to $56,481, state jurisdiction) — in the Intermittent Data Entry Operator family
- Data Architect 1 ($83,582 to $122,832, state jurisdiction) — in the Data Architect family
- Data Control Clerk (local jurisdiction)
- Research Data Manager ($71,879 to $100,638, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Data Entry Operator jobs
How many separate Data Entry Operator classifications does New Jersey have?
The Data Entry Operator family holds 4 title codes arranged across 4 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
How much is a Data Entry Operator paid?
Published salary data for this family runs from $39,358 at the bottom of Data Entry Operator 1 to $84,763 at the top of Data Entry Operator 4. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Is there a civil service test for Data Entry Operator?
Yes for most of the family. 3 of the 4 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What are the requirements to become a Data Entry Operator?
No degree requirement is parsed from the specifications in this family, which puts these titles among the New Jersey civil service jobs reachable without formal higher education. Experience of 1 to 4 years is named where a requirement is stated.
Which agencies employ Data Entry Operator staff?
State payroll records show 188 people in this family across 11 agencies, with Treasury the largest at 81. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.