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The differences between clerks typist and receptionist secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clerk typist and a receptionist secretary. Additionally, a clerk typist has an average salary of $31,746, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a receptionist secretary.
The top three skills for a clerk typist include data entry, customer service and telephone calls. The most important skills for a receptionist secretary are patients, data entry, and phone calls.
| Clerk Typist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $31,746 | $29,343 |
| Hourly rate | $15.26 | $14.11 |
| Growth rate | -5% | - |
| Number of jobs | 102,211 | 61,892 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A clerk typist is responsible for data entry procedures and document transcriptions, alongside other clerical and administrative duties as required by the employer. Clerk typists create reports and presentation materials, transcribe audio meetings, write business drafts, and send documents to appropriate office personnel or clients. A clerk-typist must show excellent organizational and time-management skills, especially with handling various typing tasks under strict deadlines and minimal supervision. They also respond and take calls from clients and customers, assisting with their inquiries and concerns.
A receptionist secretary is responsible for providing the best customer service, as well as attending to the needs of existing and potential clients. Duties of a receptionist secretary include managing customer's inquiries and forwarding important calls to the appropriate department, performing administrative and clerical tasks, escalating high-level of client's concerns to the management, keeping the reception area clean, monitoring office supplies and request stocks as needed, and maintaining an organized record of meetings and events. A receptionist secretary must have strong communication and multi-tasking skills to handle workloads of daily operations.
Clerks typist and receptionist secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clerk Typist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Average salary | $31,746 | $29,343 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $39,000 | Between $24,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | Saint Paul, MN | Lake Oswego, OR |
| Highest paying state | Colorado | Washington |
| Best paying company | Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES | Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Best paying industry | Education | Government |
There are a few differences between a clerk typist and a receptionist secretary in terms of educational background:
| Clerk Typist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | - |
Here are the differences between clerks typist' and receptionist secretaries' demographics:
| Clerk Typist | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.8% Female, 91.2% | Male, 5.6% Female, 94.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 8.3% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |