Clerical aide vs office specialist

The differences between clerical aides and office specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clerical aide and an office specialist. Additionally, an office specialist has an average salary of $33,477, which is higher than the $29,426 average annual salary of a clerical aide.

The top three skills for a clerical aide include clerical support, computer data entry and computer programs. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Clerical aide vs office specialist overview

	Clerical Aide	Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$29,426	$33,477
Hourly rate	$14.15	$16.09
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	59,698	98,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a clerical aide do?

Clerical aides perform various office-related tasks for company executives like answering calls, sorting documents, taking down the minutes of their meetings, etc. They should have computer skills, be organized, and communicate with people inside and outside the company. These aides proofread standard and templated documents to produce the necessary documentation needed to present the activities held in their department. As they are working for officials in a company, there will be occasions where work hours can be irregular and events that need attendance.

What does an office specialist do?

An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.

Clerical aide vs office specialist salary

Clerical aides and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clerical Aide	Office Specialist
Average salary	$29,426	$33,477
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $36,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Chico, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Nevada	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Belmont High School	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between clerical aide and office specialist education

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

	Clerical Aide	Office Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Clerical aide vs office specialist demographics

Here are the differences between clerical aides' and office specialists' demographics:

	Clerical Aide	Office Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.5% Female, 82.5%	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.0% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between clerical aide and office specialist duties and responsibilities

Clerical aide example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Process received payments into QuickBooks and make deposits.
Administer data entry and other forms of record keeping, need by the payroll and student services departments.
Ensure confidentiality of all medical records information and completes forms for release of information in compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Put together PowerPoint presentations -Lead generation -Marketing mailings
Review complete payroll ledger with original entry documents to confirm accuracy.

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Office specialist example responsibilities.

Provide support for enrolling patients into health coverage programs and manage sensitive patient information to ensure accuracy and confidentiality.
Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Provide assistance to office staff including preparing and proofreading memos and grants, transcribing meeting minutes for staff and answering phones.
Perform multiple bookkeeping duties including departmental payroll, print financial reports and other financial material as needed.
Communicate HIPAA compliance to staff, field and outside agencies.

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Clerical aide vs office specialist skills

Common clerical aide skills

Clerical Support, 12%
Computer Data Entry, 10%
Computer Programs, 9%
Office Equipment, 9%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Inventory Control, 7%

Common office specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 10%
Patients, 9%
Office Equipment, 6%
Phone Calls, 6%
Word Processing, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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