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The differences between department secretaries 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 department secretary and an administrative receptionist. Additionally, a department secretary has an average salary of $35,473, which is higher than the $31,502 average annual salary of an administrative receptionist.
The top three skills for a department secretary include patients, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative receptionist are customer service, patients, and data entry.
| Department Secretary | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Yearly salary | $35,473 | $31,502 |
| Hourly rate | $17.05 | $15.15 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 80,303 | 91,892 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes. They handle the scheduling of meetings and conferences, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, directing visitors to the appropriate personnel and department, sorting files, and submitting business transactions and financial reports. A department secretary also recommends strategic procedures to generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability.
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.
Department secretaries and administrative receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Department Secretary | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Average salary | $35,473 | $31,502 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $25,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oakland, CA | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Beacon Hill Staffing Group |
| Best paying industry | Government | Technology |
There are a few differences between a department secretary and an administrative receptionist in terms of educational background:
| Department Secretary | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between department secretaries' and administrative receptionists' demographics:
| Department Secretary | Administrative Receptionist | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 7.0% Female, 93.0% | Male, 8.0% Female, 92.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% 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 Percentage | 6% | 6% |