Student employee vs office administrator

The differences between student employees and office 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 student employee and an office administrator. Additionally, an office administrator has an average salary of $37,423, which is higher than the $24,086 average annual salary of a student employee.

The top three skills for a student employee include customer service, food safety and financial aid. The most important skills for an office administrator are customer service, patients, and data entry.

Student employee vs office administrator overview

	Student Employee	Office Administrator
Yearly salary	$24,086	$37,423
Hourly rate	$11.58	$17.99
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	12,497	118,096
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a student employee do?

Student employees are students who have a job within a school campus. Their duties may include working in the classrooms, cafeterias, and dorms. These employees receive a salary for their work, provided they maintain the grade requirements set by the school. The requirements for this position vary for every school. These may include having a minimum of 3.0 for graduates and 2.0 for undergraduates. They typically work 40 hours a week and may hold two or more positions to reach the required number of work hours.

What does an office administrator do?

Office administrators are employees who ensure that the office is running in tip-top shape. They manage the administrative needs of the office. They answer calls directed to the official company phone, manage the inventory of supplies, take charge or purchase requisitions for needed supplies, and ensure the office equipment and fixtures are taken care of. Office administrators also manage correspondences, official memoranda, and other official company documents. They also keep track of files and records to ensure that these are properly organized. At times, office administrators also take charge of welcoming guests and accompanying them to their respective meetings.

Student employee vs office administrator salary

Student employees and office administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Student Employee	Office Administrator
Average salary	$24,086	$37,423
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $32,000	Between $28,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Denver, CO	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Colorado	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Education	Government

Differences between student employee and office administrator education

There are a few differences between a student employee and an office administrator in terms of educational background:

	Student Employee	Office Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Western Carolina University

Student employee vs office administrator demographics

Here are the differences between student employees' and office administrators' demographics:

	Student Employee	Office Administrator
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9%	Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 10.3% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 7.9% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between student employee and office administrator duties and responsibilities

Student employee example responsibilities.

Manage club documents and advertise several events through Facebook.
Install structures and fixtures, such as windows, frames, floorings, and trim.
Instruct in helping students who struggle with mathematics.
Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs using Photoshop.
Create posters promote special guest speakers visiting CNM using Photoshop.
Coordinate college recruitment activities at career fairs, high school scholarship awards and specific industry requests.

Office administrator example responsibilities.

Monitor calls, manage calendars, travel, meeting arrangements, video conference and teleconferencing.
Formulate various procedures to assure efficient operation of the SharePoint system is managed properly for CFWB and BOS.
Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Pull patients charts for doctors using EMR system as well as pulled chart from medical records room.
Create and update all departmental ISO documents.
Collect all outgoing FedEx overnight packages and ship with accurate tracking and conformation information.

Student employee vs office administrator skills

Common student employee skills

Customer Service, 22%
Food Safety, 9%
Financial Aid, 7%
Front Desk, 7%
Food Preparation, 5%
Public Facilities, 4%

Common office administrator skills

Customer Service, 18%
Patients, 11%
Data Entry, 8%
Office Equipment, 5%
Front Desk, 4%
PowerPoint, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Student Employee
Student Employee vs Office Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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