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The differences between unit secretaries and receptionist secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a unit secretary and a receptionist secretary. Additionally, a unit secretary has an average salary of $32,153, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a receptionist secretary.
The top three skills for a unit secretary include patients, patient care and medical terminology. The most important skills for a receptionist secretary are patients, data entry, and phone calls.
| Unit Secretary | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $32,153 | $29,343 |
| Hourly rate | $15.46 | $14.11 |
| Growth rate | -8% | - |
| Number of jobs | 69,543 | 61,892 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 30% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Average age | 49 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Unit secretaries are administrative workers in a medical facility, usually a hospital or a clinic. They are in charge of religious activities in the unit or department they are assigned to. They manage incoming and outgoing mail, phone calls, and even appointments. They handle filing and recording of the documents of the department. They also take minutes of meetings and ensure that action plans are followed through. Unit secretaries should be familiar with the individuals in the department. They should also be accustomed to the schedule of members of the unit. Unit secretaries should be organized, dedicated, and trustworthy.
A receptionist secretary is responsible for providing the best customer service, as well as attending to the needs of existing and potential clients. Duties of a receptionist secretary include managing customer's inquiries and forwarding important calls to the appropriate department, performing administrative and clerical tasks, escalating high-level of client's concerns to the management, keeping the reception area clean, monitoring office supplies and request stocks as needed, and maintaining an organized record of meetings and events. A receptionist secretary must have strong communication and multi-tasking skills to handle workloads of daily operations.
Unit secretaries and receptionist secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Unit Secretary | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Average salary | $32,153 | $29,343 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $24,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | Lake Oswego, OR |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Government |
There are a few differences between a unit secretary and a receptionist secretary in terms of educational background:
| Unit Secretary | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 30% | High School Diploma, 37% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between unit secretaries' and receptionist secretaries' demographics:
| Unit Secretary | Receptionist Secretary | |
| Average age | 49 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 5.6% Female, 94.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |