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The differences between receiving clerks and office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a receiving clerk, becoming an office assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an office assistant has an average salary of $31,517, which is higher than the $31,482 average annual salary of a receiving clerk.
The top three skills for a receiving clerk include customer service, purchase orders and data entry. The most important skills for an office assistant are data entry, patients, and customer service.
| Receiving Clerk | Office Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,482 | $31,517 |
| Hourly rate | $15.14 | $15.15 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 237,705 | 103,293 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Average age | 43 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
Usually assigned at a warehouse or retail store, a receiving clerk's primary role is to accept product deliveries upon arrival and sign necessary documents, prioritizing the accuracy of all invoices. It is also the task of a receiving clerk to unload heavy packages, verify its contents, place it in the appropriate storage place, and keep records for inventory. They must process returns should it be necessary. There are also instances where a receiving clerk may have to engage with retailers and vendors, ensuring that all shipments arrive in time.
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.
Receiving clerks and office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Receiving Clerk | Office Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,482 | $31,517 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $38,000 | Between $24,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Analysis Group |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Government |
There are a few differences between a receiving clerk and an office assistant in terms of educational background:
| Receiving Clerk | Office Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between receiving clerks' and office assistants' demographics:
| Receiving Clerk | Office Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.2% Female, 39.8% | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.7% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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% |