Administrative specialist vs administrative clerk

The differences between administrative specialists and administrative clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an administrative specialist and an administrative clerk. Additionally, an administrative specialist has an average salary of $38,758, which is higher than the $32,327 average annual salary of an administrative clerk.

The top three skills for an administrative specialist include customer service, data entry and powerpoint. The most important skills for an administrative clerk are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Administrative specialist vs administrative clerk overview

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Yearly salary	$38,758	$32,327
Hourly rate	$18.63	$15.54
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	71,227	137,639
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	50	47
Years of experience	2	2

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.

What does an administrative clerk do?

An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments. The clerks often set up office meetings and invite reliable speakers. Also, they do research and prepare reports or presentations. Candidates for the job must be organized, detail-oriented, and can manage their time well. They must be tech-savvy and have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping. The salary depends on their experience, industry, and location of the job.

Administrative specialist vs administrative clerk salary

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Average salary	$38,758	$32,327
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $58,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Meta	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between administrative specialist and administrative clerk education

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative specialist vs administrative clerk demographics

Here are the differences between administrative specialists' and administrative clerks' demographics:

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Average age	50	47
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 27.9% Female, 72.1%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative specialist and administrative clerk duties and responsibilities

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 clerk example responsibilities.

Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Assist teachers with GED packets for students.
Ship orders via customers freight line request (ex.
Schedule and administer the GED exam upon the completion of the inmate's profile.
Enter data in spreadsheets for reports, auction items, payroll and monthly utility accounts.
Process all DMV registration, titles, title flips and plates using CVR and TriVin programs.

Administrative specialist vs administrative clerk skills

Common administrative specialist skills

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

Common administrative clerk skills

Customer Service, 17%
Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 9%
Word Processing, 6%
Payroll Data, 5%
Database Systems, 4%

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Administrative Specialist vs Administrative Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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