How To Become A Front Office Administrator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a front office administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A front office administrator is an individual who works in a front office or desk for an organization or a business. They are responsible for greeting customers, checking customers in for appointments, answer customer questions, and scheduling appointments. A front office administrator also handles invoices, correspondence, office paperwork, and other clerical duties needed to manage day-to-day operations in an office. Front desk administrators typically work at a reception area of an organization and interact with customers and clients daily.

A front office administrator should possess strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills, and should be comfortable multi-tasking and resolving potential customer issues. Although an advanced degree is not needed to work as a front office administrator, most employers require at least a high school diploma or a GED, and sufficient verbal and math skills.

Depending upon the industry, a front desk administrator can make up to $31,000 annually in the US, but the career field is expected to decline slightly by 4% in the next 10 years.

ScoreFront Office AdministratorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,516

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 5.23%

Black or African American 9.86%

Hispanic or Latino 18.73%

Unknown 4.72%

White 60.81%

Gender

female 90.15%

male 9.85%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a front office administrator

Explore front office administrator education requirements

Most common front office administrator degrees

Bachelor's

40.4 %

Associate

24.2 %

High School Diploma

15.7 %

Start to develop specific front office administrator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	21.47%
Front Desk	6.03%
Appointment Scheduling	5.81%
Phone Calls	5.79%
Excellent Interpersonal	5.52%

Complete relevant front office administrator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New front office administrators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a front office administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real front office administrator resumes.

Research front office administrator duties and responsibilities

Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Handle day to day transactions, schedule patients, place patients onto traction tables and administer E-Stem/Ice.
Observe and perform patient's therapies such as, electric muscle stimulation, mechanical traction and acupuncture.
Cross train in veterinary technician duties including vaccines, administering medications, medical treatment for kennel and hospitalize patients.

Prepare your front office administrator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your front office administrator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a front office administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable front office administrator resume templates

Build a professional front office administrator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your front office administrator resume.