Account technician vs senior account specialist

The differences between account technicians and senior account specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an account technician, becoming a senior account specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior account specialist has an average salary of $68,185, which is higher than the $51,115 average annual salary of an account technician.

The top three skills for an account technician include veterans, financial statements and patients. The most important skills for a senior account specialist are patients, healthcare, and account management.

Account technician vs senior account specialist overview

	Account Technician	Senior Account Specialist
Yearly salary	$51,115	$68,185
Hourly rate	$24.57	$32.78
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	94,413	103,476
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	51	46
Years of experience	6	12

What does an account technician do?

Account technicians are skilled professionals who are responsible for gathering data and preparing financial statements and reports from the account records they have maintained. These technicians are required to settle accounts with insurance companies and maximize benefits payments received from those companies. They must maintain a client management system for multiple accounts and coordinate marketing outreach for potential and existing clients. Account technicians must also monitor and compile all documents of the department, such as invoices, checks, and financial records.

What does a senior account specialist do?

A senior account specialist is in charge of overseeing client accounts and financial transactions in businesses, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. It is their responsibility to gather and analyze extensive data, manage staff, and liaise with external parties such as vendors and suppliers. They also process invoices, vouchers, checks, job orders, and other documents. Moreover, as a senior account specialist, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior account specialists, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Account technician vs senior account specialist salary

Account technicians and senior account specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Account Technician	Senior Account Specialist
Average salary	$51,115	$68,185
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $97,000	Between $46,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Microsoft	AbbVie
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between account technician and senior account specialist education

There are a few differences between an account technician and a senior account specialist in terms of educational background:

	Account Technician	Senior Account Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Account technician vs senior account specialist demographics

Here are the differences between account technicians' and senior account specialists' demographics:

	Account Technician	Senior Account Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 31.3% Female, 68.7%	Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 14.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 3.6% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	8%

Differences between account technician and senior account specialist duties and responsibilities

Account technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Process medical claims and workman compensation claims and Medicare & Medicaid claims.
Review accounts, record payments from first and third party billing to include Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance.
Close patient contact, appropriate decision-making concerning patient financial affairs and coordination between patients and third-party sponsorship for further financial assistance.
Issue manual checks from QuickBooks as needed.
Construct payment scheduling through utilization of QuickBooks.

Senior account specialist example responsibilities.

Manage accounts while providing excellent customer service, help build financial relationships, redirecting calls in upselling credit per customer needs
Educate and understand Medicare policies and guidelines for qualifying perspective patients.
Create team PowerPoint presentations for team meetings.
Provide customers with HIPPA forms and rules and regulations.
Submit primary and secondary Pennsylvania and Ohio Medicaid claims online thru PROMIS.
Know all laws including hippa call recording disclosures, credit card laws etc.

Account technician vs senior account specialist skills

Common account technician skills

Veterans, 13%
Financial Statements, 10%
Patients, 8%
Data Entry, 6%
HR, 5%
Reconciliations, 5%

Common senior account specialist skills

Patients, 20%
Healthcare, 13%
Account Management, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Customer Accounts, 4%
Problem Resolution, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Account Technician
Account Technician vs Senior Account Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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