Employers

Document management specialists work for corporations, law firms, banking and financial institutions, health care companies, insurance companies, educational institutions, government agencies, and any other organization that produces a large number of documents that need to be organized and managed. Most specialists are employed full time.

Starting Out

An internship or part-time job is a good way to get started in a document management career. Your school's career services office can help with locating internship opportunities and part-time work at companies with DM departments. Specialists also learn about career opportunities through professional associations and employment Web sites. Use a search engine and keywords such as "document management specialist jobs" to find job listings.

Document management specialists advance by taking on more projects and working with more departments and employees within companies. After several years of experience successfully managing documents and records for companies, specialists may be promoted to senior management roles, which entail more supervisory than administrative duties. Those with a bachelor's degree may pursue a master's degree in business management, information technology, or other specialization to advance their careers. Some may leave their full-time jobs to start their own consulting firms. They may also increase their involvement in professional associations, sharing their expertise in the document management field by speaking at trade conferences and teaching workshops.

Get an internship or part-time job in the document management department of a company that interests you. Find opportunities through your school's career services office and by searching the career sections of companies' Web sites.

Keep up with industry news and find upcoming events by visiting the Web sites of professional associations such as AIIM (http://www.aiim.org) and ARMA International (http://www.arma.org).

Take classes in the document management software systems that are required for DM specialist jobs to keep your skills up to date and marketable. To help you choose the right classes, first look at job descriptions at the companies you want to work for and make note of the software programs listed.