Clerk 990650 210463631 2008-05-06T00:58:25Z 71.235.186.111 /* Functions and titles */ {{otheruses}} '''Clerk''', the vocational title, commonly refers to a white collar office worker who conducts general office or (in some instances) sales tasks. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service counters and other administrative tasks.<ref name="Meriam Webster, definition of clerical worker">{{cite web|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/clerk|title=Meriam Webster, definition of clerical worker|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> In [[American English]], this includes shop staff, but in [[British English]], such people are known as shop assistants and are not considered to be clerks. Also, the pronunciation is different: {{IPA|/klɑː(ɹ)k/}} ('clark'/'clahk') in most British English dialects, but {{IPA|/klɝk/}} ('clurk') in American English. ==History== The word clerk, derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning '[[cleric]]', i.e. [[clergyman]] (Latin was the foremost language used at most early medieval courts, writing mainly entrusted to clergy as most laymen couldn't even read), can denote someone who works in an [[office]] and whose duties include record-keeping or correspondence. The word entered English from Scots Gaelic ''clèireach'' also derived from Latin ''clericus'', which in turn derived from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''κληρικός'' (''klerikos'') "of the clergy"<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=clerk&searchmode=none, Clerk], Online Etymology Dictionary</ref><ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2357871 Klerikos], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus</ref>. In a medieval context, the word meant "[[Scholar]]" and still related to the word "[[cleric]]". Even today, the term [[Clerk regular]] designates a type of regular clerics. The cognate terms in some languages, e.g. ''Klerk'' in Dutch, became restricted to a specific, fairly low rank in the [[Public administration|administrative]] hierarchy. ==United States== Clerical workers are perhaps the largest occupational group in the United States. In 2004 there were 3.1 million general office clerks,<ref name="US Department of Labor, General office clerks">{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos130.htm|title=US Department of Labor, General office clerks|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> 1.5 million office administrative supervisors and 4.1 million secretaries.<ref name="US Department of Labor, Secretaries and administrative assistants">{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos151.htm#emply|title=US Department of Labor, Secretaries and administrative assistants|accessdate=2006-06-07}}</ref> Clerical occupations often do not require a college degree, though some college education or 1 to 2 years in vocational programs are common qualifications. Familiarity with office equipment and certain software programs is also often required. Employers may provide clerical training.<ref name="US Department of Labor, training of secretaries">{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos151.htm#training|title=US Department of Labor, training of secretaries|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> The median salary for clerks is $23,000, while the national median income for workers age 25 or older is $33,000.<ref name="US Census Bureau, personal income distribution, age 25+, 2006">{{cite web|url=http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_001.htm|title=U.S. Census Bureau, personal income distribution, age 25+, 2006|accessdate = 2007-06-07}}</ref> Median salaries ranged from $22,770 for general office clerks to $34,970 for secretaries and $41,030 for administrative supervisors. Clerical workers are considered [[American middle class#working class majority|working class]] by American [[Sociology|sociologists]] such as William Thompson, Joseph Hickey or James Henslin as they preform highly routinized tasks with relatively little autonomy.<ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X}}</ref> Sociologist [[Dennis Gilbert]], argues that the white and blue collar divide has shifted to a divide between professionals, including some semi-professionals, and routinized white collar workers.<ref name="The American Class Structure">{{cite book | last = Gilbert | first = Dennis | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1998 | title = The American Class Structure | publisher = Wadsworth Publishing | location = New York | id = 0-534-50520-1}}</ref> White collar office supervisors may be considered lower middle class with some secretaries being located in that part of the socio-economic strata where the working and middle classes overlap. Traditionally clerical positions have been held almost exclusively by women. Even today, the vast majority of clerical workers in the US continue to be female. As with other pre-dominantly female positions, clerical occupations were and, to some extent, continue to be assigned relatively low prestige on a sexist basis.<ref name="Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships">{{cite book | last = Williams | first = Brian | authorlink = | coauthors = Stacey C. Sawyer, Carl M. Wahlstrom | year = 2005 | title = Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-36674-0}}</ref> The term [[Pink collar|pink collar worker]] is often used to describe predominantly female white collar positions. ==Functions and titles== Various functions or offices, generally of such 'clerical' nature, include the word and an indication of the task and/or employer, that is lower in position. For example: *[[City clerk]] *[[Clerk of the Peace]] *[[Clerk of the Closet]] and [[Deputy Clerk of the Closet]] *[[Clerk of the Green Cloth]] *[[County clerk]] *[[Court clerk]], e.g., [[Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States]] *[[Data entry clerk]] *[[Law clerk]] *[[Clerk (choral)]] the name given to adult members of the [[choir]] at certain [[Colleges]] at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] [[Universities]]. Clerks Choral is also the name given to the adult members of professional choirs in a number of Cathedrals and Collegiate Churches in Great Britain and Ireland. *[[Patent clerk]] *[[Pit Clerk]] *[[Clerk of Works]], the highly qualified [[non-commissioned officer|non-commissioned]] tradesmen in the [[Royal Engineers]]. *[[Clerk of the Works]], a person employed by the client on the site of a [[building construction]] project to represent his interests. *[[Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)|Clerk of the Privy Council]], the senior [[civil servant]] in the Canadian federal government and Secretary to the [[Canadian Cabinet]]. * [[Ward clerk]], one who works in a hospital ward However in large offices and organizations which require an administrative hierarchy, some titles simply indicate the relative rank of certain clerical positions, e.g. [[Head Clerk]], [[Junior Clerk]], Clerk, [[Senior Clerk]], Principal Clerk, Senior Principal Clerk, Chief Clerk, Senior Chief Clerk, Executive Clerk, Senior Executive Clerk, Principal Executive Clerk. Alternatively (in American English) a clerk is a person who sells items in a store or performs services at a desk, e.g. *sales clerk (as in grocery sales) *deli clerk *hotel front desk clerk *service desk clerk *cash register clerk The [[surname]]s [[Clark]], [[Clarke]], Clerk, [[Clerke]] are derived from this occupation. ==See also== *[[White collar]] *[[Pink collar]] *[[Secretary]] *[[American middle class#working class majority|American working class]] *[[Social class in the United States]] *[[Clerk (Quaker)]] ==References== <references /> [[Category:Business and financial operations occupations]] [[Category:Sales occupations]] [[Category:Office and administrative support occupations]] [[Category:Legal occupations]] [[Category:Clerks|*]] [[Category:Office work]] [[Category:Sociology]] [[Category:Social classes]] [[Category:Greek loanwords]] [[de:Kontorist]] [[simple:Company clerk]] [[sl:Uradnik]]