Office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant

The differences between office assistants and clerical/administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an office assistant and a clerical/administrative assistant. Additionally, an office assistant has an average salary of $31,517, which is higher than the $30,983 average annual salary of a clerical/administrative assistant.

The top three skills for an office assistant include data entry, patients and customer service. The most important skills for a clerical/administrative assistant are data entry, word processing, and payroll.

Office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant overview

	Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,517	$30,983
Hourly rate	$15.15	$14.90
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	103,293	56,261
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office assistant do?

Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.

What does a clerical/administrative assistant do?

An administrative assistant, also known as a secretary or office clerk, is someone who carries out daily clerical and administrative tasks. Admin assistants do a variety of tasks such as answering phone calls, organizing files, maintaining contacts, schedule meetings and appointments, and many more. Their task can be extensive, depending on the needs of operations and higher management. They serve as a gatekeeper of the company, so strong verbal and written communication skills are a must. They should also exhibit great organizational skills and time management since they act as the resource of the company.

Office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant salary

Office assistants and clerical/administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$31,517	$30,983
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Washington
Best paying company	Analysis Group	University of California
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between office assistant and clerical/administrative assistant education

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

	Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between office assistants' and clerical/administrative assistants' demographics:

	Office Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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%

Differences between office assistant and clerical/administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Manage CI s SharePoint pages and serve as CI s subject matter expert on SharePoint working groups.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Compile payroll records, detect and reconcile discrepancies, accurately report outcomes using QuickBooks.
Maintain office services by organizing office operations and procedures, preparing payroll, controlling correspondences, and designing filing systems.
File client paperwork upholding HIPAA standards.

Clerical/administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Work with QuickBooks to manage store invoices and accounts.
Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Check patients in and out, EMR, collect co-pays, answer phones, and take patients to exam rooms.
Assist with preparing and printing of exhibits, spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides as needed.
Maintain payroll and expense information.

Office assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant skills

Common office assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Front Desk, 6%

Common clerical/administrative assistant skills

Data Entry, 31%
Word Processing, 18%
Payroll, 14%
Customer Service, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 4%
Clerical Support, 3%

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Office Assistant vs Clerical/Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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