Office support clerk vs office assistant

The differences between office support clerks and office 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 support clerk and an office assistant. Additionally, an office support clerk has an average salary of $32,040, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.

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

Office support clerk vs office assistant overview

	Office Support Clerk	Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$32,040	$31,517
Hourly rate	$15.40	$15.15
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	185,683	103,293
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office support clerk do?

Office support clerks are professionals who provide clerical and administrative duties that support the daily activities of an organization's office setting. These clerks are required to answer incoming calls from clients while maintaining all office and cleaning supplies for the organization. They must communicate with clients and direct them to the appropriate department to ensure quality customer service. Office support clerks must also utilize the automated word processing equipment so that they can produce reports, statistical information, and other departmental information.

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.

Office support clerk vs office assistant salary

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

	Office Support Clerk	Office Assistant
Average salary	$32,040	$31,517
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Tualatin, OR	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	Vermont
Best paying company	Sierra Pacific Industries	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between office support clerk and office assistant education

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

	Office Support Clerk	Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office support clerk vs office assistant demographics

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

	Office Support Clerk	Office Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 7.7% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office support clerk and office assistant duties and responsibilities

Office support clerk example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Audit all deductions for each employee on payroll for various deductions such as; health care, dental and uniforms.
Initiate contact among current and potential clients by assisting in application process, new hire paperwork, and client payroll.
Compile PowerPoint presentations for various department heads.
Assist in creating Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and other documents for staff development and productivity.
Handle administrative work relate to operational process of the office and patients clinical information.

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.

Office support clerk vs office assistant skills

Common office support clerk skills

Customer Service, 19%
Data Entry, 17%
Word Processing, 7%
Office Equipment, 6%
Front Desk, 5%
Database Systems, 5%

Common office assistant skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Office Support Clerk
Office Support Clerk vs Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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