Administrative support staff vs administrative specialist

The differences between administrative support staff 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 support staff, becoming an administrative specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an administrative specialist has an average salary of $38,758, which is higher than the $33,602 average annual salary of an administrative support staff.

The top three skills for an administrative support staff include excellent interpersonal, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative specialist are customer service, data entry, and powerpoint.

Administrative support staff vs administrative specialist overview

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Specialist
Yearly salary	$33,602	$38,758
Hourly rate	$16.15	$18.63
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	162,436	71,227
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	6	2

Administrative support staff vs administrative specialist salary

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

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Specialist
Average salary	$33,602	$38,758
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $41,000	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 support staff and administrative specialist education

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

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Western Carolina University

Administrative support staff vs administrative specialist demographics

Here are the differences between administrative support staff' and administrative specialists' demographics:

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Specialist
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 24.5% Female, 75.5%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 60.7% 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 support staff and administrative specialist duties and responsibilities

Administrative support staff example responsibilities.

Create PowerPoint presentations, manage spreadsheet information/graphs and provide reports as necessary.
Maintain SharePoint site for SEDD branch.
Prepare and release medical records in accordance with HIPAA policy.
Process submission of employee's retirement contributions, payroll and insurance benefits.
Assist project and event coordinators with the logistics and operations of various projects.
Monitor client payments, enter and adjust payroll, and create credit and billing invoices.

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 support staff vs administrative specialist skills

Common administrative support staff skills

Excellent Interpersonal, 20%
Data Entry, 14%
Customer Service, 10%
Word Processing, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Personnel Data, 6%

Common administrative specialist skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Administrative Support Staff
Administrative Support Staff vs Administrative Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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