Office assistant vs office clerk

The differences between office assistants and office clerks 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 clerk. Additionally, an office assistant has an average salary of $31,517, which is higher than the $30,927 average annual salary of an office clerk.

The top three skills for an office assistant include data entry, patients and customer service. The most important skills for an office clerk are customer service, data entry, and telephone calls.

Office assistant vs office clerk overview

	Office Assistant	Office Clerk
Yearly salary	$31,517	$30,927
Hourly rate	$15.15	$14.87
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	103,293	106,497
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
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 an office clerk do?

Office clerks are administrative employees who handle clerical activities for the organization. They are in charge of managing company records, organizing and storing documents, filing and sorting hard copies of documents, and liaising with other departments or external partners. They are also in charge of handling and scheduling meetings and appointments, managing the reservation of office meeting rooms, and manning telephone lines. Office clerks may also be in charge of ordering office supplies, preparing purchase requisitions for office needs, sending out and receiving official company documents, and other correspondences.

Office assistant vs office clerk salary

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

	Office Assistant	Office Clerk
Average salary	$31,517	$30,927
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $25,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Englewood, CO
Highest paying state	Vermont	Alaska
Best paying company	Analysis Group	University of Massachusetts Boston
Best paying industry	Government	Transportation

Differences between office assistant and office clerk education

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

	Office Assistant	Office Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office assistant vs office clerk demographics

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

	Office Assistant	Office Clerk
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%
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, 9.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office assistant and office clerk 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.

Show more

Office clerk example responsibilities.

Complete medical records requests as specified under HIPAA regulations.
Scan EOB's and attach to payments in software system.
Perform electronic billing of Medicare, Medicaid, and HMO/PPO submissions.
Follow all HIPAA guidelines and safety rules as required within the healthcare policy.
Perform account analysis on credit balance accounts using insurance explanation of benefit information (EOB).
Provide information about establishment, such as location of departments or offices, employees within the organization, or services provide.

Show more

Office assistant vs office clerk skills

Common office assistant skills

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

Common office clerk skills

Customer Service, 21%
Data Entry, 18%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Payroll, 5%
Office Equipment, 4%
Office Machines, 3%

Office Assistant vs. similar jobs

Office Assistant related careers

Office Assistant related jobs

Office Assistant jobs by location

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z