Terminal clerk vs office assistant

The differences between terminal clerks and office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a terminal clerk and an office assistant. Additionally, a terminal clerk has an average salary of $36,854, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.

The top three skills for a terminal clerk include direct calls, computer system and schedule appointments. The most important skills for an office assistant are data entry, patients, and customer service.

Terminal clerk vs office assistant overview

	Terminal Clerk	Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$36,854	$31,517
Hourly rate	$17.72	$15.15
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	98,182	103,293
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a terminal clerk do?

A terminal clerk is in charge of processing and supervising activities concerning passengers and cargo, ensuring operations run smoothly and efficiently in adherence to protocols and regulations. Their duties entail gathering and verifying documentation, processing requests, accepting payments, processing files, and monitoring cargo inventory. Additionally, a terminal clerk assists clients by answering inquiries, explaining services, and solving issues and concerns professionally. Moreover, they must also maintain an open and transparent communication line with staff to ensure cargo is received or delivered timely and accurately.

What does an office assistant do?

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.

Terminal clerk vs office assistant salary

Terminal clerks and office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Terminal Clerk	Office Assistant
Average salary	$36,854	$31,517
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $44,000	Between $24,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Vermont
Best paying company	-	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between terminal clerk and office assistant education

There are a few differences between a terminal clerk and an office assistant in terms of educational background:

	Terminal Clerk	Office Assistant
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Terminal clerk vs office assistant demographics

Here are the differences between terminal clerks' and office assistants' demographics:

	Terminal Clerk	Office Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 16.7% Female, 83.3%	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.1% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	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%

Differences between terminal clerk and office assistant duties and responsibilities

Terminal clerk example responsibilities.

Demonstrate strong math skills in managing inmate s accounts and calmly and effectively deescalating outbursts of belligerent inmates.
Handle all incoming calls, bank deposits, accounts payable, general ledgers and employee payroll.
Prepare various spreadsheets such as month end salary accruals and payroll allocations for facilities within the company.
Maintain cleanliness of the company warehouse, operate warehouse machinery and organize the warehouse to ensure proper product placement.
Count daily out of stocks using the Telxon handheld, and enter the information onto the Safeway intranet for ordering purposes.

Office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Manage CI s SharePoint pages and serve as CI s subject matter expert on SharePoint working groups.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Compile payroll records, detect and reconcile discrepancies, accurately report outcomes using QuickBooks.
Maintain office services by organizing office operations and procedures, preparing payroll, controlling correspondences, and designing filing systems.
File client paperwork upholding HIPAA standards.

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Terminal clerk vs office assistant skills

Common terminal clerk skills

Direct Calls, 29%
Computer System, 18%
Schedule Appointments, 15%
Freight Bills, 11%
Call Volume, 8%
Customer Inquiries, 7%

Common office assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Front Desk, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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