Administrative specialist vs office manager

The differences between administrative specialists and office managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an administrative specialist, becoming an office manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an office manager has an average salary of $43,395, which is higher than the $38,758 average annual salary of an administrative specialist.

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

Administrative specialist vs office manager overview

	Administrative Specialist	Office Manager
Yearly salary	$38,758	$43,395
Hourly rate	$18.63	$20.86
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	71,227	53,712
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	50	47
Years of experience	2	6

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 office manager do?

Office managers oversee the entire workplace. They maintain office processes and services to ensure that everything is running well. They manage office supplies by managing inventory and procurement procedures. They also device filing systems, create needed and relevant office policies, and ensure that all the policies are being followed. As a way to make sure that the office is in top shape, office managers supervise most of the logistical aspects inside the office. They also provide support to both management teams and the rest of the employees. They often act as the bridge between the two and would sometimes even assist in the training of new employees.

Administrative specialist vs office manager salary

Administrative specialists and office managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Specialist	Office Manager
Average salary	$38,758	$43,395
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $58,000	Between $30,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Meta	Moody's
Best paying industry	Technology	Construction

Differences between administrative specialist and office manager education

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

	Administrative Specialist	Office Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	California State University - Bakersfield

Administrative specialist vs office manager demographics

Here are the differences between administrative specialists' and office managers' demographics:

	Administrative Specialist	Office Manager
Average age	50	47
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 13.5% Female, 86.5%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between administrative specialist and office manager 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.

Office manager example responsibilities.

Manage international team development of RFP for new MPLS global network services.
Produce around $100k month sales/ billings, AIA documents, and manage customer accounts.
Monitor and manage the HVAC environment and nightly office cleaning performance for maximum comfort, appearance and functionality.
Manage PMO office functions including creation of strategic plan, marketing of services, and resource and project planning.
Manage production of an RFP to source $60m in software and services and manage a subset of the subsequent implementation.
Manage daily functions and systems to ensure patients receive appropriate accommodations under HIPAA guidelines.

Administrative specialist vs office manager skills

Common administrative specialist skills

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

Common office manager skills

Customer Service, 19%
Patients, 13%
Financial Statements, 6%
Office Operations, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%
Scheduling Appointments, 4%

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Administrative Specialist vs Office Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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