Volunteer vs office employee

The differences between volunteers and office employees can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a volunteer, becoming an office employee takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an office employee has an average salary of $35,825, which is higher than the $31,227 average annual salary of a volunteer.

The top three skills for a volunteer include child care, patient charts and patient care. The most important skills for an office employee are customer service, telephone calls, and customer accounts.

Volunteer vs office employee overview

	Volunteer	Office Employee
Yearly salary	$31,227	$35,825
Hourly rate	$15.01	$17.22
Growth rate	12%	-5%
Number of jobs	9,583	74,182
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	43	47
Years of experience	12	2

What does a volunteer do?

Volunteers are usually unpaid individuals who render their service to a company or organization. Most of the time, volunteers are skilled in specific areas needed by the organization but prefer to provide free service. They may be employed in another organization, but they lend their time and talent to another organization or company to give back to the community. They raise funds, create awareness, and work on the ground. Volunteers usually choose a cause or advocacy close to their heart, such as teaching children, taking care of the elderly, coaching sports teams, cleaning up communities, and caring for animals.

What does an office employee do?

An office employee is someone who performs clerical and any other tasks usually performed by managers. Office employees are employed as clerical workers in offices or organizations. They execute tasks such as typing and word processing, answering phone calls, bookkeeping, and stenography. It is their responsibility to ensure the smooth daily operations of an office. Their diligence, communication skills, customer service, hard work, and attention to detail are necessary for this job.

Volunteer vs office employee salary

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

	Volunteer	Office Employee
Average salary	$31,227	$35,825
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $41,000	Between $19,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	East Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	OSF HealthCare
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between volunteer and office employee education

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

	Volunteer	Office Employee
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Fullerton	Western Carolina University

Volunteer vs office employee demographics

Here are the differences between volunteers' and office employees' demographics:

	Volunteer	Office Employee
Average age	43	47
Gender ratio	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%	Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.3% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	6%

Differences between volunteer and office employee duties and responsibilities

Volunteer example responsibilities.

Develop and manage web presence, including Facebook account and other social media business accounts!
Train staff members on managing contacts, scheduling programs, and running analytic reports with the Salesforce program.
Lead team-building exercises and facilitate group discussions on leadership topics.
Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.
Supervise and maintain safe play for children's soccer games.
Teach GED to refugees and survivors of torture seeking to enroll in college.

Show more

Office employee example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Complete payroll by compiling hours and verifying submissions weekly, via QuickBooks.
File paperwork, organize PowerPoint presentations, assist with typing correspondence and fax documents to appropriate destination.
Demonstrate ability to maintain composure and work efficiently in a fast-pace environment while following HIPAA guidelines.

Volunteer vs office employee skills

Common volunteer skills

Child Care, 12%
Patient Charts, 10%
Patient Care, 10%
Front Desk, 9%
Community Outreach, 9%
Mathematics, 9%

Common office employee skills

Customer Service, 72%
Telephone Calls, 5%
Customer Accounts, 4%
Medical Billing, 4%
Computer System, 2%
Front Desk, 1%

Volunteer vs. similar jobs

Volunteer related careers

Volunteer related jobs

Volunteer jobs by location

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z