Office worker vs office technician

The differences between office workers and office technicians 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 technician. Additionally, an office worker has an average salary of $41,003, which is higher than the $34,956 average annual salary of an office technician.

The top three skills for an office worker include data entry, administrative tasks and powerpoint. The most important skills for an office technician are data entry, patients, and office equipment.

Office worker vs office technician overview

	Office Worker	Office Technician
Yearly salary	$41,003	$34,956
Hourly rate	$19.71	$16.81
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	84,397	82,512
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
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 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.

Office worker vs office technician salary

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

	Office Worker	Office Technician
Average salary	$41,003	$34,956
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $71,000	Between $25,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	California	Hawaii
Best paying company	Fred Hutch	Motorola Solutions
Best paying industry	Education	Construction

Differences between office worker and office technician education

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

	Office Worker	Office Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office worker vs office technician demographics

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

	Office Worker	Office Technician
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office worker and office technician 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 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.

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Office worker vs office technician skills

Common office worker skills

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

Common office technician skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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