Office employee vs student employee

The differences between office employees and student employees 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 a student employee. Additionally, an office employee has an average salary of $35,825, which is higher than the $24,086 average annual salary of a student employee.

The top three skills for an office employee include customer service, telephone calls and customer accounts. The most important skills for a student employee are customer service, food safety, and financial aid.

Office employee vs student employee overview

	Office Employee	Student Employee
Yearly salary	$35,825	$24,086
Hourly rate	$17.22	$11.58
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	74,182	12,497
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 a student employee do?

Student employees are students who have a job within a school campus. Their duties may include working in the classrooms, cafeterias, and dorms. These employees receive a salary for their work, provided they maintain the grade requirements set by the school. The requirements for this position vary for every school. These may include having a minimum of 3.0 for graduates and 2.0 for undergraduates. They typically work 40 hours a week and may hold two or more positions to reach the required number of work hours.

Office employee vs student employee salary

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

	Office Employee	Student Employee
Average salary	$35,825	$24,086
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $64,000	Between $17,000 And $32,000
Highest paying City	East Palo Alto, CA	Denver, CO
Highest paying state	California	Colorado
Best paying company	OSF HealthCare	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Professional	Education

Differences between office employee and student employee education

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

	Office Employee	Student Employee
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Northwestern University

Office employee vs student employee demographics

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

	Office Employee	Student Employee
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6%	Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 10.3% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office employee and student employee 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.

Student employee example responsibilities.

Manage club documents and advertise several events through Facebook.
Install structures and fixtures, such as windows, frames, floorings, and trim.
Instruct in helping students who struggle with mathematics.
Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs using Photoshop.
Create posters promote special guest speakers visiting CNM using Photoshop.
Coordinate college recruitment activities at career fairs, high school scholarship awards and specific industry requests.

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Office employee vs student employee skills

Common office employee skills

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

Common student employee skills

Customer Service, 22%
Food Safety, 9%
Financial Aid, 7%
Front Desk, 7%
Food Preparation, 5%
Public Facilities, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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