Administrative support staff vs administrative support specialist

The differences between administrative support staff and administrative support 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 support specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an administrative support specialist has an average salary of $38,244, 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 support specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Administrative support staff vs administrative support specialist overview

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$33,602	$38,244
Hourly rate	$16.15	$18.39
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	162,436	139,654
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 support specialist salary

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

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Support Specialist
Average salary	$33,602	$38,244
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $41,000	Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	King County
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between administrative support staff and administrative support specialist education

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

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Support 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 support specialist demographics

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

	Administrative Support Staff	Administrative Support Specialist
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 24.5% Female, 75.5%	Male, 20.5% Female, 79.5%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between administrative support staff and administrative support 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 support specialist example responsibilities.

Create PowerPoint presentations, manage spreadsheet information/graphs and provide reports as necessary.
Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Assist SharePoint intranet creation and documentation.
Generate PowerPoint presentations for meetings and training.
Maintain and post unit documents utilizing SharePoint.
Maintain files on all division civilian personnel, submit accurate payroll sheets for assign civilian personnel.

Administrative support staff vs administrative support 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 support specialist skills

Customer Service, 16%
Data Entry, 8%
Patients, 6%
PowerPoint, 5%
Administrative Functions, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%

Administrative Support Staff vs. similar jobs

Administrative Support Staff related careers

Administrative Support Staff related jobs

What similar roles do

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

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs