Post job

Clerical staff vs office support specialist

The differences between clerical staff and office support 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 staff and an office support specialist. Additionally, an office support specialist has an average salary of $36,549, which is higher than the $32,118 average annual salary of a clerical staff.

The top three skills for a clerical staff include data entry, patients and clerical support. The most important skills for an office support specialist are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.

Clerical staff vs office support specialist overview

Clerical StaffOffice Support Specialist
Yearly salary$32,118$36,549
Hourly rate$15.44$17.57
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs85,811130,301
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

Clerical staff vs office support specialist salary

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

Clerical StaffOffice Support Specialist
Average salary$32,118$36,549
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $40,000Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying CityOxnard, CABillerica, MA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMassachusetts
Best paying companyContra Costa CollegeAnne Arundel County Public Schools
Best paying industryInsuranceFinance

Differences between clerical staff and office support specialist education

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

Clerical StaffOffice Support Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaWestern Carolina University

Clerical staff vs office support specialist demographics

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

Clerical StaffOffice Support Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 19.7% Female, 80.3%Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 7.9% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.8% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between clerical staff and office support specialist duties and responsibilities

Clerical staff example responsibilities.

  • Manage the receptionist area, including greeting visitors and responding to telephone and in-person requests for information.
  • Assist in accounts payable, payroll, and process OR/Rec room charges for the billing department.
  • Supervise clerical staff, prepare payroll, maintain accounts payable, and order medical and office supplies ensuring sufficient stock.
  • Follow all request for medical records by abiding the HIPPA regulation and scan appropriate medical documents to the client's charts.
  • Comply with confidentiality; adhere to all HIPPA guidelines/ regulations.
  • Manage the receptionist area, including greeting visitors and responding to telephone and in-person requests for information.
  • Show more

Office support specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations to train employees on new software.
  • Add new documents and update calendars to the SharePoint website for team collaboration.
  • Conduct payroll accountability & evaluate for accuracy.
  • Process bi-weekly payroll for part-time civil service personnel.
  • Update SharePoint website regularly with new employee information.
  • Show more

Clerical staff vs office support specialist skills

Common clerical staff skills
  • Data Entry, 30%
  • Patients, 17%
  • Clerical Support, 9%
  • Database Management, 6%
  • Front Desk, 5%
  • Payroll, 3%
Common office support specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Data Entry, 10%
  • Phone Calls, 7%
  • Office Equipment, 6%
  • Human Resources, 5%
  • Word Processing, 5%

Browse office and administrative jobs