Office employee vs office technician

The differences between office employees and office technicians 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 employee and an office technician. Additionally, an office employee has an average salary of $35,825, which is higher than the $34,956 average annual salary of an office technician.

The top three skills for an office employee include customer service, telephone calls and customer accounts. The most important skills for an office technician are data entry, patients, and office equipment.

Office employee vs office technician overview

	Office Employee	Office Technician
Yearly salary	$35,825	$34,956
Hourly rate	$17.22	$16.81
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	74,182	82,512
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office employee do?

An office employee is someone who performs clerical and any other tasks usually performed by managers. Office employees are employed as clerical workers in offices or organizations. They execute tasks such as typing and word processing, answering phone calls, bookkeeping, and stenography. It is their responsibility to ensure the smooth daily operations of an office. Their diligence, communication skills, customer service, hard work, and attention to detail are necessary for this job.

What does an office technician do?

An Office Technician handles installation and repair tasks by using power tools and manual equipment safely and effectively. Besides installing, maintaining, and repairing central office equipment, an office technician also installs, tests, and labels cable lines. They deactivate, activate, and maintain office equipment. Other duties performed by office technicians include removing non-functional and unused office equipment, managing equipment stations and telecommunication rooms cabling, and maintaining inspection, repair, maintenance, and installation documents. Also, these professionals work as per environmental, safety, and health policies.

Office employee vs office technician salary

Office employees and office technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Employee	Office Technician
Average salary	$35,825	$34,956
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $64,000	Between $25,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	East Palo Alto, CA	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	California	Hawaii
Best paying company	OSF HealthCare	Motorola Solutions
Best paying industry	Professional	Construction

Differences between office employee and office technician education

There are a few differences between an office employee and an office technician in terms of educational background:

	Office Employee	Office Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office employee vs office technician demographics

Here are the differences between office employees' and office technicians' demographics:

	Office Employee	Office Technician
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6%	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office employee and office technician duties and responsibilities

Office employee example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Complete payroll by compiling hours and verifying submissions weekly, via QuickBooks.
File paperwork, organize PowerPoint presentations, assist with typing correspondence and fax documents to appropriate destination.
Demonstrate ability to maintain composure and work efficiently in a fast-pace environment while following HIPAA guidelines.

Office technician example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Interact with SCO divisions, other agencies and campuses and the public, to resolve distribution problems concerning mail and payroll.
Communicate payroll information with employees.
Verify eligibility and coverage with Medicaid and Medicare.
Certify to perform refraction to patients participating in clinical trials.
Provide patients with surgical and procedural information and instructions as appropriate.

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Office employee vs office technician skills

Common office employee skills

Customer Service, 72%
Telephone Calls, 5%
Customer Accounts, 4%
Medical Billing, 4%
Computer System, 2%
Front Desk, 1%

Common office technician skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 11%
Office Equipment, 7%
Office Procedures, 7%
Word Processing, 5%
Payroll, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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