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Administrative support vs administrative receptionist

The differences between administrative supports and administrative receptionists 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 support and an administrative receptionist. Additionally, an administrative support has an average salary of $37,692, which is higher than the $31,502 average annual salary of an administrative receptionist.

The top three skills for an administrative support include customer service, administrative tasks and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative receptionist are customer service, patients, and data entry.

Administrative support vs administrative receptionist overview

Administrative SupportAdministrative Receptionist
Yearly salary$37,692$31,502
Hourly rate$18.12$15.15
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs114,48091,892
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age5050
Years of experience22

What does an administrative support do?

Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.

What does an administrative receptionist do?

An administrative receptionist is responsible for performing administrative tasks, handling visitors' inquiries and concerns, verifying appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department, as well as handling and routing calls. Administrative receptionists also keep records of the staff meeting and executive conference, including company and promotional events. They receive packages and mail, sort documents, manage office supply inventories, create incident reports, and report suspicious guests within the premises. An administrative receptionist must have excellent communication and customer service skills, especially on resolving and escalating complaints.

Administrative support vs administrative receptionist salary

Administrative supports and administrative receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Administrative SupportAdministrative Receptionist
Average salary$37,692$31,502
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $53,000Between $25,000 And $38,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCOakland, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandWashington
Best paying companyPacific Investment Management Company LLCBeacon Hill Staffing Group
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between administrative support and administrative receptionist education

There are a few differences between an administrative support and an administrative receptionist in terms of educational background:

Administrative SupportAdministrative Receptionist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University

Administrative support vs administrative receptionist demographics

Here are the differences between administrative supports' and administrative receptionists' demographics:

Administrative SupportAdministrative Receptionist
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 20.4% Female, 79.6%Male, 8.0% Female, 92.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% 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 Percentage6%6%

Differences between administrative support and administrative receptionist duties and responsibilities

Administrative support example responsibilities.

  • Manage company finances using QuickBooks software, including monitoring the operating budget and collecting on unpaid invoices.
  • Interview veterans to determine issues/concerns and recommend services.
  • Mail VA benefits correspondence to veterans and various organizations.
  • Prepare payroll packages for distribution and delivery, including collating and packing of documents.
  • Research and maintain reference library with ADAPCP in support of prevention and rehabilitation efforts.
  • Develop SharePoint training of project personal and create operating procedures, training documents and briefings.
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Administrative receptionist example responsibilities.

  • Manage travel reimbursements, and reconcile process and forward to payroll for assign individuals.
  • Act as primary liaison between patients, physical therapists and physicians while accomplishing miscellaneous duties necessary for maintaining operations.
  • Sort first class mail, FedEx, campus mail and all incoming mail daily.
  • Draft correspondence and other written material, develop PowerPoint slides and graphic presentations for demographic analysts.
  • Issue shipping instructions and provide routing information to ensure that payroll delivery times and locations are coordinate.
  • Greet visitors, and respond to telephone and in-person requests for information for sole-practitioner office serving several hundr patients.
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Administrative support vs administrative receptionist skills

Common administrative support skills
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Administrative Tasks, 8%
  • Data Entry, 6%
  • Payroll, 6%
  • Phone Calls, 6%
  • Patients, 5%
Common administrative receptionist skills
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Patients, 12%
  • Data Entry, 11%
  • Phone Calls, 8%
  • Front Desk, 6%
  • Word Processing, 4%

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