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The differences between mailroom assistants and front desk administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a front desk administrative assistant has an average salary of $33,037, which is higher than the $29,118 average annual salary of a mailroom assistant.
The top three skills for a mailroom assistant include office equipment, data entry and HR. The most important skills for a front desk administrative assistant are customer service, patients, and data entry.
| Mailroom Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $29,118 | $33,037 |
| Hourly rate | $14.00 | $15.88 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 13,048 | 95,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 45 | 50 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
Mailroom assistants receive incoming mail and then process, sort, and distribute it to the proper recipients. They may maintain mailroom supply inventories and sort office mail and messages. It is part of their responsibilities to check outgoing mail by preparing it for delivery, including distribution of packages and logging. Moreover, they usually operate mailroom tools such as envelope openers, postage meters, mail sorting machines, mail sealers, fold-and-insert machines, labeling machines, and scanners.
A front desk administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to support daily business functions and operations. Front desk administrative assistants assist guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate personnel for their needs. They also monitor office inventories, write purchase requests, and distribute mails across the departments. A front desk administrative assistants review business and financial transactions to generate reports, update information on the company's database, and sort documents for reference.
Mailroom assistants and front desk administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mailroom Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Average salary | $29,118 | $33,037 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $35,000 | Between $27,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Walnut Creek, CA | Springfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | University of California | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a mailroom assistant and a front desk administrative assistant in terms of educational background:
| Mailroom Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between mailroom assistants' and front desk administrative assistants' demographics:
| Mailroom Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Average age | 45 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.1% Female, 45.9% | Male, 10.0% Female, 90.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |