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The differences between administrative officers and clerks 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 officer and a clerk. Additionally, an administrative officer has an average salary of $64,338, which is higher than the $31,163 average annual salary of a clerk.
The top three skills for an administrative officer include veterans, human resources and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a clerk are basic math, math, and data entry.
| Administrative Officer | Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $64,338 | $31,163 |
| Hourly rate | $30.93 | $14.98 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 98,238 | 80,311 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An administrative officer is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the company's operations and maintain efficient production. Administrative officers should have excellent office management principles, handling various tasks under minimal supervision and strict deadline. They must be detail-oriented, especially on data processing systems, to encode information and update the company's documents. An administrative officer should be highly-communicative to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns, negotiate with suppliers and third-party vendors, scheduling meetings, and creating business transaction reports.
Clerks are responsible for many of the general administrative tasks in the office. They are in charge of manning office telephone lines, managing incoming and outgoing mails, filing paperwork and other needed records, scheduling and documenting meetings, typing out documents when needed, disseminating memos and other official announcements, and keeping an inventory of office equipment and supplies. Clerks should have good office skills, communication skills, business writing skills, and time management skills. They should also be able to treat any document or paperwork they handle with confidentiality.
Administrative officers and clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Officer | Clerk | |
| Average salary | $64,338 | $31,163 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $103,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | UBS | University of Massachusetts Boston |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an administrative officer and a clerk in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Officer | Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between administrative officers' and clerks' demographics:
| Administrative Officer | Clerk | |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 7.7% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |