Office technician vs department secretary

The differences between office technicians and department 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 technician and a department secretary. Additionally, a department secretary has an average salary of $35,473, which is higher than the $34,956 average annual salary of an office technician.

The top three skills for an office technician include data entry, patients and office equipment. The most important skills for a department secretary are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Office technician vs department secretary overview

	Office Technician	Department Secretary
Yearly salary	$34,956	$35,473
Hourly rate	$16.81	$17.05
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	82,512	80,303
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	2	2

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.

What does a department secretary do?

A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes. They handle the scheduling of meetings and conferences, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, directing visitors to the appropriate personnel and department, sorting files, and submitting business transactions and financial reports. A department secretary also recommends strategic procedures to generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability.

Office technician vs department secretary salary

Office technicians and department secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Technician	Department Secretary
Average salary	$34,956	$35,473
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $48,000	Between $26,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	Motorola Solutions	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	Construction	Government

Differences between office technician and department secretary education

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

	Office Technician	Department Secretary
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Stanford University

Office technician vs department secretary demographics

Here are the differences between office technicians' and department secretaries' demographics:

	Office Technician	Department Secretary
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%	Male, 7.0% Female, 93.0%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office technician and department secretary duties and responsibilities

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.

Department secretary example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Volunteer for ISO auditor duties to ensure ISO procedures are followed for certification.
Perform payroll functions, including maintaining timekeeping information and processing and submitting payroll.
Prepare materials for monthly board of directors meetings including PowerPoint presentations, agendas and minutes.
Complete all payroll documentation, enter all payroll documentation into computer program, and submit to payroll department.
Create PowerPoint presentations used for business development, organize files and develop spreadsheets, fax reports and scan documents.

Office technician vs department secretary skills

Common office technician skills

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

Common department secretary skills

Patients, 22%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Word Processing, 4%

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Office Technician
Office Technician vs Department Secretary

Updated January 8, 2025

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