How to become a typist or word processing operator
Official title: Typists and word processing operators
Also called: Shorthand typist, Stenographer, Typist, Word processor
Typists and word processing operators type, edit and print text using typewriters, personal computers or other word processors, and record oral or written matter in shorthand.
Main tasks
- Typing written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings or shorthand using a computer, word processor or typewriter
- Checking completed work for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting
- Gathering and arranging the material to be typed, following instructions
- Filing and storing completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintaining a computer filing system to store, retrieve or update documents
- Taking dictation and recording other matter in shorthand
- Reproducing the spoken word, environmental sounds and song lyrics as captions for cinema and television programming
- Transcribing information recorded in shorthand and on sound recording equipment
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$19,600 a month
- About 455,200 people in 2025, and about 412,000 projected by 2028. (-9.5%)
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a typist or word processing operator?
Usually not. Only 24% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a typist or word processing operator?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey): Monthly and hourly wage percentiles by occupational group (5 groups) (Tables 220-23014, 220-23024, 220-23003) (2025 (May to June 2025), released 2026-03-23), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026