Data entry jobs will be extinct within a few years, but you can secure your career by upskilling now … [+]
If you currently work in a data entry role as data entry specialist, administrator, receptionist, or customer service specialist, heads up:
Your job is going to be extinct within a few years.
Thanks to AI, evolving technologies, and moves towards increased efficiency, data entry as a skill—on its own—is falling out of favor, and being replaced by more complex data entry roles, such as data scientists, financial analysts, and research assistants.
The job demand for data entry and information clerks has declined by 4%, meaning 54,000 less jobs are being posted for this type of work, according to employment projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, fraudulent job adverts have been on the rise, especially since the pandemic, with a steep incline from 2020 due to increased numbers of job-seekers, and bogus entities posing themselves as employers for their own gain. This has led to a cumulative $737 million lost to job scammers since 2019, with losses per victim showing a “steady growth over the last five years, with an average of $12,000 lost per victim, a nearly twofold increase when compared to 2019,” says Surfshark analysts in a recent study.
Unfortunately, many job scammers have taken advantage of the fact that a large number of job-seekers search for remote data entry jobs, so these scammers post relatively easy, low-stress remote data entry job listings to attract their victims. This indicates that for the data entry jobs that you do see posted online, a careful analysis of them will reveal red flags that evidence that they are a scam and not genuine remote data entry jobs.
With all of this context, why would this article include in its headline, “remote data entry jobs”? Surely, even the very idea of one that pays more than $100,000 a year would seem totally ludicrous and sound very much like the fraudulent job adverts for remote data entry jobs you have likely encountered.
However, the key here is to remember that since data entry roles are becoming extinct, a new era of data entry is evolving. It’s still data entry, but not as you currently know it. These “data entry” roles have an added layer of complexity, such as data scientists, financial analysts, and research assistants. They require more skills than merely inputting data and performing administrative work.
Although the fact that entry jobs are declining in demand might be bad news to some, the good news is that the roles which are replacing them, are not only remote-friendly, but are in high demand across industries, and pay exceptionally well (according to latest figures from Salary.com):
1. Remote Data Analyst
Data analysts analyze large data sets to make sense of them, and can visualize data, and interpret for business insights and machine learning purposes, using statistical tools. They will also have advanced SQL and programming skills and have a key function within the data science team.
Average salary range: $93,989 to $122,316
Many remote data entry jobs posted online are by fraudulent scammers who pose themselves as … [+]
2. Remote BI (Business intelligence) Analyst
A BI analyst, while similar to a data analyst, is not exactly the same. According to Upwork, BI analysts focus more on structured data and provide business centric insights to managers and executives, while a data analyst will be focused on working with unstructured data to discover patterns, trends, and relationships.
Average salary range: $97,557 to $124,341
3. Remote Database Administrator (DBA)
Database administrators are responsible for managing databases. Their tasks revolve around ensuring data integrity and security, conducting performance tuning, and backup and recovery.
Average salary range: $89,861 to $113,565
4. Remote Market Research Analyst
Market research analysts focus on analyzing market data, with the goal of identifying trends and new business development opportunities. They will also create reports and presentations based on their findings from this data, and will need to be skilled in data visualization and Excel for this to be effective.
Average salary range: $71,235 to $89,684 (top earners can make $132,500 according to ZipRecruiter)
5. Remote E-commerce Data Analyst
An e-commerce data analyst’s role delves deep into an organization’s online retail sales data. This supports sales and marketing teams, and enables those behind product development to understand what is working based on sales reports, customer purchase trends, and any wider changes in the e-commerce market.
Average salary range: $69,645 to $88,705 (ZipRecruiter indicates that the range extends to $94,423, with top earners making as much as $110,000 a year)
To secure these remote data entry jobs, you would need to upskill by gaining certifications and completing training, such as Google Data Analytics Career Certificate, for example, or other courses within Python. You could even take it further and complete a computer science degree and certifications within machine learning.
Data analysts hold a key function within the data science team, from uncovering trends and patterns, … [+]
The more specific your technical and analytical expertise (as these roles not only require inputting data, but the analysis, interpretation, and management of data within specific industries) the greater you improve your chances of securing higher pay within these remote data jobs.