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The differences between clerical associates 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 a clerical associate and an administrative receptionist. Additionally, an administrative receptionist has an average salary of $31,502, which is higher than the $30,024 average annual salary of a clerical associate.
The top three skills for a clerical associate include patients, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative receptionist are customer service, patients, and data entry.
| Clerical Associate | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Yearly salary | $30,024 | $31,502 |
| Hourly rate | $14.43 | $15.15 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 78,648 | 91,892 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A clerical associate is someone who carries out administrative tasks. Clerical associates photocopy, distribute mail, put together mailings, send faxes, respond to emails, and type letters. The associate's order office supplies, convey messages to staff members, handle payroll, and manage conference rooms. They check records for information accuracy and policy and procedure conformity. It is part of their responsibilities to perform projects for patient care facilitation. Also, they provide support to the mental health clinic in terms of patient care and satisfaction survey distribution and collection.
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.
Clerical associates and administrative receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clerical Associate | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Average salary | $30,024 | $31,502 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $37,000 | Between $25,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bakersfield, CA | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | GBS | Beacon Hill Staffing Group |
| Best paying industry | Government | Technology |
There are a few differences between a clerical associate and an administrative receptionist in terms of educational background:
| Clerical Associate | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between clerical associates' and administrative receptionists' demographics:
| Clerical Associate | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7% | Male, 8.0% Female, 92.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.0% Asian, 7.7% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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% |