Administrative supervisor vs administrative specialist

The differences between administrative supervisors 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 supervisor, becoming an administrative specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an administrative supervisor has an average salary of $52,656, which is higher than the $38,758 average annual salary of an administrative specialist.

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

Administrative supervisor vs administrative specialist overview

	Administrative Supervisor	Administrative Specialist
Yearly salary	$52,656	$38,758
Hourly rate	$25.32	$18.63
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	58,242	71,227
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	6	2

What does an administrative supervisor do?

An administrative supervisor performs various administrative tasks for an organization. These include supervising administrative personnel and office managers, ensuring the smooth and effective management of the company's day-to-day business operations, and organizing training. Additionally, an administrative supervisor is expected to participate in the recruitment of administrative staff and evaluate their performance to ensure their ongoing success. Most employers look to hire someone with strong decision-making skills, relevant industry experience, and in-depth knowledge of policies and terminology.

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 supervisor vs administrative specialist salary

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

	Administrative Supervisor	Administrative Specialist
Average salary	$52,656	$38,758
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $77,000	Between $25,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Calamos Investments	Meta
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between administrative supervisor and administrative specialist education

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

	Administrative Supervisor	Administrative Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Western Carolina University

Administrative supervisor vs administrative specialist demographics

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

	Administrative Supervisor	Administrative Specialist
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 32.7% Female, 67.3%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 59.8% 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 supervisor and administrative specialist duties and responsibilities

Administrative supervisor example responsibilities.

Restructure, decentralize payroll and purchasing; achieve more productive use of headquarters staff; assume increased responsibilities without staff additions.
Delegated/Assign, review and evaluate work assignments, administer performance evaluations, approve payroll, facilitate team meetings/individual meetings, etc.
Scan and accurately attach respective laboratory test results to EMR system.
Enter patient demographics, personal details and insurance information into Medisoft EMR program.
Back office duties include taking vitals, perform EKGs, injections, phlebotomy, vaccines and assisting in minor procedures.
Create PowerPoint presentations to be present to company CEO of international company.

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 supervisor vs administrative specialist skills

Common administrative supervisor skills

Patient Care, 22%
Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 10%
Office Procedures, 7%
Payroll, 6%
HIPAA, 3%

Common administrative specialist skills

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

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Administrative Supervisor
Administrative Supervisor vs Administrative Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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