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Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks vs Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants: what changes?

Consider Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks if you want to accommodate hotel, motel, and resort patrons by registering and assigning rooms to guests, issuing room keys or cards, transmitting and receiving messages, keeping records of occupied rooms and guests'…. Consider Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants if you would rather perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks and Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

National median pay (2025)
$35,070
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of hotels or motels.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
35,500
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks brief

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

National median pay (2025)
$45,930
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
89,200
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants has the edge on projected growth

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants is at 4.8% projected growth, compared with 1.8% projected growth for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks.

2

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants has the edge on median pay

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants is at $45,930, compared with $35,070 for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks.

3

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants has the edge on annual openings

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants is at 89,200 annual openings, compared with 35,500 annual openings for Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks.

47.9/ 100

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

vs
63.4/ 100

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks vs Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

DimensionHotel, Motel, and Resort Desk ClerksMedical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Median pay (2025)$35,070$45,930
Pay percentile2.3 percentile20.2 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)1.8%4.8%
Annual openings (2025–2035)35,50089,200
2025 employment264,600979,000
How you qualifyHigh school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensingHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 2Job Zone 2
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingOne month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.