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The differences between 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 an office assistant and an office clerical assistant. Additionally, an office assistant has an average salary of $31,517, which is higher than the $28,373 average annual salary of an office clerical assistant.
The top three skills for an office assistant include data entry, patients and customer service. The most important skills for an office clerical assistant are data entry, customer service, and patients.
| Office Assistant | Office Clerical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,517 | $28,373 |
| Hourly rate | $15.15 | $13.64 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 103,293 | 83,010 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
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.
Office assistants and office clerical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Assistant | Office Clerical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,517 | $28,373 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $41,000 | Between $22,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | Vermont | California |
| Best paying company | Analysis Group | Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between an office assistant and an office clerical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Office Assistant | Office Clerical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office assistants' and office clerical assistants' demographics:
| Office Assistant | Office Clerical Assistant | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% | Male, 18.5% Female, 81.5% |
| 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, 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% |