Front desk office assistant vs office clerical assistant

The differences between front desk office assistants and office clerical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a front desk office assistant and an office clerical assistant. Additionally, a front desk office assistant has an average salary of $31,361, which is higher than the $28,373 average annual salary of an office clerical assistant.

The top three skills for a front desk office assistant include front desk, patients and customer service. The most important skills for an office clerical assistant are data entry, customer service, and patients.

Front desk office assistant vs office clerical assistant overview

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Clerical Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,361	$28,373
Hourly rate	$15.08	$13.64
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	113,589	83,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a front desk office assistant do?

Front desk office assistants are the first point of contact for anyone visiting a business or an office. They greet workers and clients and perform routine administrative tasks around the office. These tasks include taking phone calls, scheduling appointments, responding to inquiries and concerns of guests, maintaining and arranging office files, taking and delivering messages, and sending mail. Being polite, jovial, and firm are key characteristics in this role.

What does an office clerical assistant do?

Office clerical assistants are professionals who are responsible for performing a variety of clerical tasks within an organization's office. These assistants must provide office assistance functions such as responding to emails, filing papers, and preparing schedules while handling customers at the front desk. They are required to use automated word processing equipment to produce correspondence, forms, or reports. Clerical assistants must also answer high profile telephone calls and forward the messages to the appropriate person.

Front desk office assistant vs office clerical assistant salary

Front desk office assistants and office clerical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Clerical Assistant
Average salary	$31,361	$28,373
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $22,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	-	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between front desk office assistant and office clerical assistant education

There are a few differences between a front desk office assistant and an office clerical assistant in terms of educational background:

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Clerical Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Front desk office assistant vs office clerical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between front desk office assistants' and office clerical assistants' demographics:

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Office Clerical Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 18.5% Female, 81.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between front desk office assistant and office clerical assistant duties and responsibilities

Front desk office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage front-line customer service efforts and deliver maximum revenue generation by scheduling patients and maintaining substantial client database.
Enter patient demographics into EMR.
Track patient files records, and other information including entry of data into EMR.
Follow health center and departmental protocols for communication with patients and providers.
Respond to incoming patient calls, including conducting phone triage to determine necessity of scheduling appointments
Enhance student body knowledge by researching key facts to create educational PowerPoint slides to be publish throughout campus

Office clerical assistant example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Prepare payroll summary and submit to accountant for direct deposit.
Provide efficient and professional telephone services in challenging mental health office while upholding confidentiality under HIPAA standards.
Charge entry on EMR program software HCS Interactant.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.

Front desk office assistant vs office clerical assistant skills

Common front desk office assistant skills

Front Desk, 20%
Patients, 18%
Customer Service, 9%
Phone Calls, 9%
Data Entry, 8%
Appointment Scheduling, 5%

Common office clerical assistant skills

Data Entry, 20%
Customer Service, 20%
Patients, 12%
Word Processing, 9%
Office Equipment, 5%
Windows, 4%

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Front Desk Office Assistant
Front Desk Office Assistant vs Office Clerical Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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