Administrative clerk vs desk clerk

The differences between administrative clerks and desk clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an administrative clerk has an average salary of $32,327, which is higher than the $29,096 average annual salary of a desk clerk.

The top three skills for an administrative clerk include customer service, data entry and patients. The most important skills for a desk clerk are reservations, front desk, and customer service.

Administrative clerk vs desk clerk overview

	Administrative Clerk	Desk Clerk
Yearly salary	$32,327	$29,096
Hourly rate	$15.54	$13.99
Growth rate	-5%	-
Number of jobs	137,639	113,183
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	47	37
Years of experience	2	-

What does an administrative clerk do?

An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments. The clerks often set up office meetings and invite reliable speakers. Also, they do research and prepare reports or presentations. Candidates for the job must be organized, detail-oriented, and can manage their time well. They must be tech-savvy and have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping. The salary depends on their experience, industry, and location of the job.

What does a desk clerk do?

The desk clerk or general office clerk is an employee who works with little supervision from the manager. The duties and responsibilities of desk clerks vary depending on the industry they belong to. These may include but are not limited to answering phone calls, electronic correspondence, filing paperwork, taking and maintaining inventory levels, and setting calendars and schedules. They are expected to always offer excellent customer service. In hotels, they check-in and check-out their guests.

Administrative clerk vs desk clerk salary

Administrative clerks and desk clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Clerk	Desk Clerk
Average salary	$32,327	$29,096
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $40,000	Between $23,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	Deborah's Place
Best paying industry	Finance	Manufacturing

Differences between administrative clerk and desk clerk education

There are a few differences between an administrative clerk and a desk clerk in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Clerk	Desk Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	-

Administrative clerk vs desk clerk demographics

Here are the differences between administrative clerks' and desk clerks' demographics:

	Administrative Clerk	Desk Clerk
Average age	47	37
Gender ratio	Male, 27.9% Female, 72.1%	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 10.0% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	6%	13%

Differences between administrative clerk and desk clerk duties and responsibilities

Administrative clerk example responsibilities.

Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Assist teachers with GED packets for students.
Ship orders via customers freight line request (ex.
Schedule and administer the GED exam upon the completion of the inmate's profile.
Enter data in spreadsheets for reports, auction items, payroll and monthly utility accounts.
Process all DMV registration, titles, title flips and plates using CVR and TriVin programs.

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Desk clerk example responsibilities.

Manage customer service issues with ease and charm and train other co workers in daily operations.
Assist with setting up meetings using PowerPoint presentations.
Book keeping, check ins, paperwork, PowerPoint, enter information into database.
Communicate with previous shift, organize shift and review reservations and update contingency
Position require guest reservations to be coordinate with housekeeping and maintenance needs.
Register new patients and updates existing patient demographics by collecting patient detail patient information including personal and financial information.

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Administrative clerk vs desk clerk skills

Common administrative clerk skills

Customer Service, 17%
Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 9%
Word Processing, 6%
Payroll Data, 5%
Database Systems, 4%

Common desk clerk skills

Reservations, 22%
Front Desk, 14%
Customer Service, 12%
Room Availability, 11%
Direct Calls, 6%
Telephone Calls, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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