Receptionist telephone operator vs office specialist

The differences between receptionist telephone operators and office specialists 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 telephone operator and an office specialist. Additionally, an office specialist has an average salary of $33,477, which is higher than the $27,595 average annual salary of a receptionist telephone operator.

The top three skills for a receptionist telephone operator include scheduling appointments, patients and customer service. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Receptionist telephone operator vs office specialist overview

	Receptionist Telephone Operator	Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$27,595	$33,477
Hourly rate	$13.27	$16.09
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	45,734	98,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	42	47
Years of experience	2	2

Receptionist telephone operator vs office specialist salary

Receptionist telephone operators and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Receptionist Telephone Operator	Office Specialist
Average salary	$27,595	$33,477
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between receptionist telephone operator and office specialist education

There are a few differences between a receptionist telephone operator and an office specialist in terms of educational background:

	Receptionist Telephone Operator	Office Specialist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Receptionist telephone operator vs office specialist demographics

Here are the differences between receptionist telephone operators' and office specialists' demographics:

	Receptionist Telephone Operator	Office Specialist
Average age	42	47
Gender ratio	Male, 12.1% Female, 87.9%	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.3% Asian, 6.2% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between receptionist telephone operator and office specialist duties and responsibilities

Receptionist telephone operator example responsibilities.

Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Perform receptionist duties and registration of patients.
Establish accurate accounts for each guest upon check-in according to their requirements and ensure guest paperwork or documentation are filed appropriately.
Work at switchboards at a variety of businesses and handle outgoing, interoffice or incoming calls.
Prepare healthy meal replacement protein smoothies

Office specialist example responsibilities.

Provide support for enrolling patients into health coverage programs and manage sensitive patient information to ensure accuracy and confidentiality.
Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Provide assistance to office staff including preparing and proofreading memos and grants, transcribing meeting minutes for staff and answering phones.
Perform multiple bookkeeping duties including departmental payroll, print financial reports and other financial material as needed.
Communicate HIPAA compliance to staff, field and outside agencies.

Receptionist telephone operator vs office specialist skills

Common receptionist telephone operator skills

Scheduling Appointments, 24%
Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 12%
Direct Visitors, 11%
Telephone Calls, 6%
Telephone Switchboard, 5%

Common office specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 10%
Patients, 9%
Office Equipment, 6%
Phone Calls, 6%
Word Processing, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Receptionist Telephone Operator
Receptionist Telephone Operator vs Office Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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