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The differences between office clerks and assistant secretaries 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 clerk and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $30,927 average annual salary of an office clerk.
The top three skills for an office clerk include customer service, data entry and telephone calls. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.
| Office Clerk | Assistant Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $30,927 | $107,366 |
| Hourly rate | $14.87 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 106,497 | 52,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
An assistant secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of various departments and management personnel and ensure the efficiency of business functions. Assistant secretaries usually assist in business communications, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, reaching out to existing clients to schedule appointments, welcoming guests on the office, and routing calls to the appropriate department. They also handle data entry procedures, updating customer information on the database, as well as creating reports on business and financial transactions.
Office clerks and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Clerk | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average salary | $30,927 | $107,366 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $38,000 | Between $38,000 And $302,000 |
| Highest paying City | Englewood, CO | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | University of Massachusetts Boston | Elanco |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | - |
There are a few differences between an office clerk and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:
| Office Clerk | Assistant Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office clerks' and assistant secretaries' demographics:
| Office Clerk | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |