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The differences between customer representatives and customer service administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a customer representative, becoming a customer service administrative assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a customer representative has an average salary of $37,351, which is higher than the $33,741 average annual salary of a customer service administrative assistant.
The top three skills for a customer representative include phone calls, windows and technical support. The most important skills for a customer service administrative assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and payroll.
| Customer Representative | Customer Service Administrative Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,351 | $33,741 |
| Hourly rate | $17.96 | $16.22 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 220,778 | 93,535 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 40 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A customer service representative is an individual person who establishes communication between customers and the organization by answering questions, resolve complaints, and address emergency issues about the products and services he/she sells. He/She must possess an approachable personality, a passion for customer service, and work with his/her fellow workmates. The minimum educational requirement for a customer service representative is a high school diploma; however, a candidate must complete on-the-job training. A Customer Service Representative should also possess excellent communication and problem-solving skills.
A customer service administrative assistant is responsible for responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, alongside performing administrative tasks as required. Customer service administrative assistants must escalate high-level complaints to the appropriate department, organize client meetings, process business letters, assist with developing promotional offers and marketing materials, and research potential clients. They also manage inventories and request stock supplies, create expense reports, and update customer records in the database. A customer service administrative assistant must have excellent customer service skills, as well as the ability to multitask and work under pressure and strict deadlines.
Customer representatives and customer service administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Representative | Customer Service Administrative Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,351 | $33,741 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $55,000 | Between $28,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Everett, WA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Washington |
| Best paying company | IBM | Uline |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer representative and a customer service administrative assistant in terms of educational background:
| Customer Representative | Customer Service Administrative Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between customer representatives' and customer service administrative assistants' demographics:
| Customer Representative | Customer Service Administrative Assistant | |
| Average age | 40 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3% | Male, 10.7% Female, 89.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 22.8% Asian, 7.4% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |