Receptionist vs administrator

The differences between receptionists and administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a receptionist and an administrator. Additionally, an administrator has an average salary of $72,882, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

The top three skills for a receptionist include patients, phone calls and customer service. The most important skills for an administrator are customer service, data entry, and troubleshoot.

Receptionist vs administrator overview

	Receptionist	Administrator
Yearly salary	$30,571	$72,882
Hourly rate	$14.70	$35.04
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	65,671	67,553
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	42	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

What does an administrator do?

Administrators are administrative professionals who oversee the whole office or department. They manage office activities and supervise administrative functions in the office. They work the office calendar and oversee the appointment-setting process. They coordinate office events and ensure that all preparations are made and that there are no conflicting schedules. They also maintain a database of external providers of various office needs. Administrators also oversee office supplies and prepare purchase requisitions. They also manage janitorial services and other functions that are related to the maintenance of the physical office space. Administrators ensure that all fixtures and equipment in the office are functioning well and have no problems.

Receptionist vs administrator salary

Receptionists and administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Receptionist	Administrator
Average salary	$30,571	$72,882
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $46,000 And $113,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	Gensler	Apple
Best paying industry	Finance	Manufacturing

Differences between receptionist and administrator education

There are a few differences between a receptionist and an administrator in terms of educational background:

	Receptionist	Administrator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Receptionist vs administrator demographics

Here are the differences between receptionists' and administrators' demographics:

	Receptionist	Administrator
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	6%	9%

Differences between receptionist and administrator duties and responsibilities

Receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

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Administrator example responsibilities.

Develop a Perl script to manage the LDAP schema.
Hire and manage all receptionists and assistant MCA's.
Used all tools of Java stack in supporting and managing it.
Manage and process product orders on windows base on-line computer network system.
Manage ADP time system for technicians and approve time-off requests, supporting management.
Manage professional staff of 9 (including 5 MDs) and support staff of 10

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Receptionist vs administrator skills

Common receptionist skills

Patients, 17%
Phone Calls, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

Common administrator skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 7%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Financial Reports, 4%
Oversight, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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