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The differences between data entry representatives and customer service representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a data entry representative, becoming a customer service representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a data entry representative has an average salary of $33,173, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.
The top three skills for a data entry representative include customer service, outbound calls and inbound calls. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
| Data Entry Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $33,173 | $32,260 |
| Hourly rate | $15.95 | $15.51 |
| Growth rate | - | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 147,777 | 209,515 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 28% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Data entry representatives are professionals who are responsible for entering data from different documents into the computer systems for storage, processing, and data management. These representatives must prepare documents for data entry and check the accuracy of the data that has been inputted into the database software. They must resolve the discrepancies in information as well as create data backups as part of their contingency plan. Data entry representatives must also test the new database systems so that information can be used by other people for reference or reports.
Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.
Data entry representatives and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Data Entry Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $33,173 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $41,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Alere | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a data entry representative and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Data Entry Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 28% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between data entry representatives' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Data Entry Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.8% Female, 76.2% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 7.6% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 7% |