Office worker vs general office clerk

The differences between office workers and general office clerks 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 worker and a general office clerk. Additionally, an office worker has an average salary of $41,003, which is higher than the $30,034 average annual salary of a general office clerk.

The top three skills for an office worker include data entry, administrative tasks and powerpoint. The most important skills for a general office clerk are data entry, customer service, and office equipment.

Office worker vs general office clerk overview

	Office Worker	General Office Clerk
Yearly salary	$41,003	$30,034
Hourly rate	$19.71	$14.44
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	84,397	160,597
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office worker do?

An office worker is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of the business. Office workers assist in receiving calls to respond to the clients' inquiries and concerns, as well as welcoming visitors, verifying their appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department for their business needs. They also do data processing, sorting mail, and filing documents for easy retrieval and reference, especially during meetings and company activities.

What does a general office clerk do?

A general office clerk is responsible for performing various clerical duties to support business functions and ensure smooth daily operations. General office clerks respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, welcoming guests, and assisting in disseminating information across the organization. They maintain the adequacy of inventories, organize business and financial transaction reports, and perform basic bookkeeping tasks and banking transactions. A general office clerk must be highly organizational and analytical, especially in encoding account statements on the database and processing business reports required by the management.

Office worker vs general office clerk salary

Office workers and general office clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Worker	General Office Clerk
Average salary	$41,003	$30,034
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $71,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Fred Hutch	USF Reddaway
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between office worker and general office clerk education

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

	Office Worker	General Office Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office worker vs general office clerk demographics

Here are the differences between office workers' and general office clerks' demographics:

	Office Worker	General Office Clerk
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%	Male, 22.2% Female, 77.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office worker and general office clerk duties and responsibilities

Office worker example responsibilities.

Manage daily office operations maintaining accurate records for payroll and other checks.
Train in installing windows, showers and glass into homes and commercial businesses.
Used QuickBooks to accurately compute and produce invoices to be mail to various customer companies.
Serve as office secretary, organizing files, answering phones, delivering payroll and deposits, organize incoming mail and invoices.
Assist patients with sensitive and detail orient documentation, schedule appointments and verify insurance benefits.
Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.

General office clerk example responsibilities.

Set up PowerPoint presentations using LCD projectors and computers.
Update and maintain PowerPoint presentations used for new hire orientation of management and employees.
Insert data accurately and expeditiously into the company payroll system for future retrieval.
Assist patients with sensitive and detail orient documentation, schedule appointments and verify insurance benefits.
Use QuickBooks for purchase order, inventory activities and sales order.
Bag groceries, assist customers in locating merchandise, cleaning of store floors, restrooms and shelves.

Office worker vs general office clerk skills

Common office worker skills

Data Entry, 28%
Administrative Tasks, 22%
PowerPoint, 18%
Payroll, 16%
Customer Service, 4%
Telephone Calls, 2%

Common general office clerk skills

Data Entry, 17%
Customer Service, 15%
Office Equipment, 12%
Front Desk, 11%
Word Processing, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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