Office assistant vs front office assistant

The differences between office assistants and front office 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 front office assistant. Additionally, a front office assistant has an average salary of $32,913, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.

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

Office assistant vs front office assistant overview

	Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,517	$32,913
Hourly rate	$15.15	$15.82
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	103,293	149,847
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 24%
Average age	47	47
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 front office assistant do?

Front office assistants typically work and perform their duty within the office. They do office support duties like welcome and greet customers, answer phone calls, and schedule and plan appointments. It is their responsibility to sort mails, route calls, and listen to voicemails. They need to organize and give out communications promptly. Also, they do clerical tasks, manage inventory, and maintain their work area. They must be keen to details, can multitask and have excellent communication and customer service skills.

Office assistant vs front office assistant salary

Office assistants and front office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Average salary	$31,517	$32,913
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Vermont	Connecticut
Best paying company	Analysis Group	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between office assistant and front office assistant education

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

	Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 24%
Most common major	Business	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Office assistant vs front office assistant demographics

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

	Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%	Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3%
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, 10.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office assistant and front office 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.

Front office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Ensure compliance with HIPAA and OSHA regulations to improve customer relations and promote favorable patient/physician interactions.
Download all transcription for the physicians and mail out letters and patient consults.
Utilize knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT coding by verifying explanation of benefits render to patient, for insurance purposes.
Collect co-pays, enter update demographics into EHR/EMR, enter ICD-9 and CPT codes as needed into patient records electronically
Verify insurance to include commercial and Medicaid.

Office assistant vs front office assistant skills

Common office assistant skills

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

Common front office assistant skills

Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Patient Demographics, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Front Desk, 4%

Office Assistant vs. similar jobs

Office Assistant related careers

Office Assistant related jobs

Office Assistant jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Office Assistant
Office Assistant vs Front Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs