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Document Management Specialists

Document Management Specialists: Career Overview

Implement and administer enterprise-wide document management systems and related procedures that allow organizations to capture, store, retrieve, share, and destroy electronic records and documents.

The Daily Work of Document Management Specialists Do?

The core tasks performed by document management specialists include:

  • Assist in determining document management policies to facilitate efficient, legal, and secure access to electronic content.
  • Assist in the development of document or content classification taxonomies to facilitate information capture, search, and retrieval.
  • Implement electronic document processing, retrieval, and distribution systems in collaboration with other information technology specialists.
  • Identify and classify documents or other electronic content according to characteristics such as security level, function, and metadata.
  • Develop, document, or maintain standards, best practices, or system usage procedures.
  • Assist in the assessment, acquisition, or deployment of new electronic document management systems.
  • Administer document and system access rights and revision control to ensure security of system and integrity of master documents.
  • Prepare and record changes to official documents and confirm changes with legal and compliance management staff, including enterprise-wide records management staff.

Skills and Knowledge

Top document management specialists rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

The competencies most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Reading Comprehension  3.9 / 5
0
5
Critical Thinking  3.8 / 5
0
5
Active Listening  3.8 / 5
0
5
Writing  3.8 / 5
0
5
Systems Analysis  3.6 / 5
0
5
Monitoring  3.6 / 5
0
5

Top Knowledge Areas

English Language  3.9 / 5
0
5
Administration and Management  3.9 / 5
0
5
Computers and Electronics  3.8 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  3.5 / 5
0
5
Administrative  3.5 / 5
0
5
Law and Government  3.5 / 5
0
5

Types of Document Management Specialists Jobs

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

  • Business Records Manager
  • Certified Document Imaging Architect
  • Clinical Documentation Specialist
  • Commercial Loan Documentation Specialist
  • Content Specialist
  • Content Strategist
  • Credentialing Coordinator
  • Credentialing Manager

Job Outlook

The U.S. employs around 341,120 document management specialists working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -0.6% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Document Management Specialists

How Much Do Document Management Specialists Make?

Statistic Value
Annual median $147,490
Hourly median $70.91
10th percentile $84,325
25th percentile $115,907
75th percentile $179,073
90th percentile $210,656

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Document Management Specialists

Pay by State

State Annual median salary
Virgin Islands $179,830
Maryland $141,540
District of Columbia $137,610
Virginia $132,810
Delaware $132,670
Washington $131,800
California $128,750
Colorado $119,560
West Virginia $113,030
Hawaii $112,050
Arizona $112,010
Vermont $109,220
Texas $108,170
North Carolina $106,240
Massachusetts $105,890
New York $105,210
Ohio $104,330
Alabama $104,330
South Carolina $104,330
New Jersey $103,910
Iowa $103,690
Oregon $102,940
Florida $102,750
New Mexico $102,500
Pennsylvania $102,330
Michigan $102,300
Maine $101,760
Georgia $100,950
Nevada $100,570
Illinois $100,310
Kansas $100,090
Alaska $100,040
Minnesota $99,740
South Dakota $98,550
Connecticut $97,870
Rhode Island $96,990
Indiana $96,530
Idaho $95,640
Utah $95,640
Oklahoma $95,640
Kentucky $90,380
Wyoming $90,010
Nebraska $87,920
New Hampshire $87,420
Mississippi $86,380
Wisconsin $85,290
Missouri $84,250
Montana $78,690
Arkansas $77,830
Louisiana $75,560
North Dakota $69,640
Tennessee $65,370
Puerto Rico $42,250

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Pay for document management specialists shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:

Region Median annual wage Share of U.S. jobs Location quotient
Far Western US $126,964 25.0% 1.54
Middle Atlantic $121,117 18.1% 2.97
Rocky Mountains $108,235 3.6% 0.97
Southwest $107,900 16.0% 1.38
New England $102,646 2.6% 0.65
Southeast $101,290 22.4% 1.02
Great Lakes $97,392 6.3% 0.61
Plains States $89,865 5.8% 1.14

Top Metro Areas

Metro area State Median annual wage Employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA CA $168,070 15,550
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA CA $157,380 18,680
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV DC $144,040 35,080
Charlottesville, VA VA $142,150 140
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV MD $139,940 420
Lexington Park, MD MD $138,090 1,020
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA WA $134,230 10,400
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MD $133,680 9,110

Which Industries Hire Document Management Specialists

Most document management specialists are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry Employment Median annual wage
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 130,160 $106,200
Information 43,000 $126,550
Finance and Insurance 28,690 $126,080
Management of Companies and Enterprises 25,660 $127,600
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 24,880 $96,000
Manufacturing 21,020 $102,950
Educational Services 18,100 $79,900
Wholesale Trade 13,130 $100,550
Document Management Specialists sectors

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Document Management Specialists industries

Software Document Management Specialists Use

  • Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
  • Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
  • Web platform development software: Apache Tomcat (hot technology)
  • Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD (hot technology)
  • Computer aided design CAD software: Dassault Systemes SolidWorks (hot technology)
  • Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML (hot technology)
  • Data mining software: Google Analytics (hot technology)
  • Web platform development software: Hypertext markup language HTML (hot technology)
  • Data base user interface and query software: IBM DB2 (hot technology)
  • Cloud-based management software: IBM WebSphere MQ (hot technology)
  • Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

Daily working conditions for document management specialists tends to involve the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Telephone Conversations
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
  • Spend Time Sitting

Education and Training

Typical document management specialists positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

Top Programs to Study For This Career

Future document management specialists often complete programs in:

Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services

5 programs across 5 majors

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

4 programs across 4 majors

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

2 programs across 1 majors

1 programs across 1 majors

1 programs across 1 majors

Physical Sciences

1 programs across 1 majors

References

This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 15-1299.03 (Computer Occupations, All Other).

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