Administrative office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant

The differences between administrative office assistants and clerical/administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an administrative office assistant and a clerical/administrative assistant. Additionally, an administrative office assistant has an average salary of $33,318, which is higher than the $30,983 average annual salary of a clerical/administrative assistant.

The top three skills for an administrative office assistant include customer service, data entry and phone calls. The most important skills for a clerical/administrative assistant are data entry, word processing, and payroll.

Administrative office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant overview

	Administrative Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$33,318	$30,983
Hourly rate	$16.02	$14.90
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	81,528	56,261
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative office assistant do?

An administrative office assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to assist in daily management operations. These duties include taking calls and responding to client and customers' inquiries and concerns, scheduling meetings and conferences, organizing files and submitting required documents, sorting invoices for release, processing travel arrangements, receiving emails, forwarding reports to the appropriate department, and coordinating with company's events. An administrative assistant must be detail-oriented, as well as having excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties even under minimal supervision.

What does a clerical/administrative assistant do?

An administrative assistant, also known as a secretary or office clerk, is someone who carries out daily clerical and administrative tasks. Admin assistants do a variety of tasks such as answering phone calls, organizing files, maintaining contacts, schedule meetings and appointments, and many more. Their task can be extensive, depending on the needs of operations and higher management. They serve as a gatekeeper of the company, so strong verbal and written communication skills are a must. They should also exhibit great organizational skills and time management since they act as the resource of the company.

Administrative office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant salary

Administrative office assistants and clerical/administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$33,318	$30,983
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $43,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Buckley King	University of California
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between administrative office assistant and clerical/administrative assistant education

There are a few differences between an administrative office assistant and a clerical/administrative assistant in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between administrative office assistants' and clerical/administrative assistants' demographics:

	Administrative Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative office assistant and clerical/administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Administrative office assistant example responsibilities.

Develop and manage external financial relationships between clients and the IRS.
Manage the receptionist area, including greeting visitors and responding to telephone and in-person requests for information.
Establish and maintain effective communications and cohesive working relationships with company associates, telephone and walk-in customers, and site visitors.
Dust offices and clean windows and doors.
Update information in CATT database, as well as make appointments for therapists and psychiatrists in Sharepoint.
Create electronic filing system to alleviate paper copies and recruit fellow co-workers to get on board with SharePoint.

Clerical/administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Work with QuickBooks to manage store invoices and accounts.
Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Check patients in and out, EMR, collect co-pays, answer phones, and take patients to exam rooms.
Assist with preparing and printing of exhibits, spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides as needed.
Maintain payroll and expense information.

Administrative office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant skills

Common administrative office assistant skills

Customer Service, 14%
Data Entry, 13%
Phone Calls, 7%
Payroll, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%
Database Management, 4%

Common clerical/administrative assistant skills

Data Entry, 31%
Word Processing, 18%
Payroll, 14%
Customer Service, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 4%
Clerical Support, 3%

Administrative Office Assistant vs. similar jobs

Administrative Office Assistant related careers

Administrative Office Assistant related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Administrative Office Assistant
Administrative Office Assistant vs Clerical/Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs