Office worker vs office clerk

The differences between office workers and 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 an office clerk. Additionally, an office worker has an average salary of $41,003, which is higher than the $30,927 average annual salary of an office clerk.

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

Office worker vs office clerk overview

	Office Worker	Office Clerk
Yearly salary	$41,003	$30,927
Hourly rate	$19.71	$14.87
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	84,397	106,497
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
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 an office clerk do?

Office clerks are administrative employees who handle clerical activities for the organization. They are in charge of managing company records, organizing and storing documents, filing and sorting hard copies of documents, and liaising with other departments or external partners. They are also in charge of handling and scheduling meetings and appointments, managing the reservation of office meeting rooms, and manning telephone lines. Office clerks may also be in charge of ordering office supplies, preparing purchase requisitions for office needs, sending out and receiving official company documents, and other correspondences.

Office worker vs office clerk salary

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

	Office Worker	Office Clerk
Average salary	$41,003	$30,927
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $71,000	Between $25,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Englewood, CO
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	Fred Hutch	University of Massachusetts Boston
Best paying industry	Education	Transportation

Differences between office worker and office clerk education

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

	Office Worker	Office Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office worker vs office clerk demographics

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

	Office Worker	Office Clerk
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%
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, 9.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office worker and 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.

Office clerk example responsibilities.

Complete medical records requests as specified under HIPAA regulations.
Scan EOB's and attach to payments in software system.
Perform electronic billing of Medicare, Medicaid, and HMO/PPO submissions.
Follow all HIPAA guidelines and safety rules as required within the healthcare policy.
Perform account analysis on credit balance accounts using insurance explanation of benefit information (EOB).
Provide information about establishment, such as location of departments or offices, employees within the organization, or services provide.

Show more

Office worker vs office clerk skills

Common office worker skills

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

Common office clerk skills

Customer Service, 21%
Data Entry, 18%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Payroll, 5%
Office Equipment, 4%
Office Machines, 3%

Office Worker vs. similar jobs

Office Worker related careers

Office Worker related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z