Administrative functional support vs administrative specialist

The differences between administrative functional supports and administrative 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 administrative functional support, becoming an administrative specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an administrative functional support has an average salary of $54,677, which is higher than the $38,758 average annual salary of an administrative specialist.

The top three skills for an administrative functional support include generate reports, human resources and functional unit processes. The most important skills for an administrative specialist are customer service, data entry, and powerpoint.

Administrative functional support vs administrative specialist overview

	Administrative Functional Support	Administrative Specialist
Yearly salary	$54,677	$38,758
Hourly rate	$26.29	$18.63
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	103,296	71,227
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	6	2

What does an administrative functional support do?

Administrative functional supports generally work on clerical activities like preparing documents and reports, scheduling meetings, analyzing data for budgetary expenditures, etc. These professionals keep their organization's confidential information, act as middlemen between internal and external contacts, and organize special events or programs. They assist in the production, designing, and development of company publications. Also, they are in charge of cascading routine and general information about process updates and standard procedures to the staff. There are four levels of work on this job, each requiring a different degree of experience and education.

What does an administrative specialist do?

An administrative specialist is in charge of various clerical tasks to support supervisors and management staff. Their responsibility is to act as the main point of contact among clients through answering calls and responding to inquiries, managing schedules, arranging appointments and travel, addressing complaints and resolving internal issues, managing payroll, and keeping an organized database. Furthermore, an administrative specialist can also conduct research and analysis, prepare reports and other forms of documentation, and coordinate workflow in a particular area.

Administrative functional support vs administrative specialist salary

Administrative functional supports and administrative specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Functional Support	Administrative Specialist
Average salary	$54,677	$38,758
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $84,000	Between $25,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between administrative functional support and administrative specialist education

There are a few differences between an administrative functional support and an administrative specialist in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Functional Support	Administrative Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Western Carolina University

Administrative functional support vs administrative specialist demographics

Here are the differences between administrative functional supports' and administrative specialists' demographics:

	Administrative Functional Support	Administrative Specialist
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between administrative functional support and administrative specialist duties and responsibilities

Administrative functional support example responsibilities.

Assist SVP with managing transition to effectively disband correspondent department and close office.
Register new patients and update existing patient's demographics by collecting patient detail patient's information including personal and financial information.
Process subpoenas and unemployment claims.

Administrative specialist example responsibilities.

Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Process incoming and outgoing medical records with newly implement HIPAA requirements.
Maintain personnel records, electronic databases, oversee and administer department SharePoint website.
Redesign and reformat PowerPoint presentations, customize individual client presentations for specific look & feel.
Create and successfully implement a new faculty form to collect necessary information for payroll forms.
Conduct training of new personnel using spreadsheets & PowerPoint presentations to ensure compliance of organizational policies & procedures.

Administrative functional support vs administrative specialist skills

Common administrative functional support skills

Generate Reports, 16%
Human Resources, 13%
Functional Unit Processes, 9%
Word Processing, 7%
SharePoint, 6%
Business, 5%

Common administrative specialist skills

Customer Service, 14%
Data Entry, 6%
PowerPoint, 6%
Office Procedures, 5%
Patients, 5%
Payroll, 4%

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Administrative Functional Support
Administrative Functional Support vs Administrative Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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