Clerk specialist vs administrative specialist

The differences between clerks specialist and administrative 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 clerk specialist and an administrative specialist. Additionally, an administrative specialist has an average salary of $38,758, which is higher than the $34,038 average annual salary of a clerk specialist.

The top three skills for a clerk specialist include data entry, office equipment and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative specialist are customer service, data entry, and powerpoint.

Clerk specialist vs administrative specialist overview

	Clerk Specialist	Administrative Specialist
Yearly salary	$34,038	$38,758
Hourly rate	$16.36	$18.63
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	90,967	71,227
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a clerk specialist do?

A Clerk Specialist is an information clerk that people can refer to when they have inquiries. Businesses place the Clerk Specialist under the umbrella of a receptionist and are often highly knowledgeable of company policies, provide solutions to problems, and handle customer complaints. A Clerk Specialist's main requirements are strong interpersonal communication skills and a high tolerance when under pressure.

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.

Clerk specialist vs administrative specialist salary

Clerks specialist and administrative specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clerk Specialist	Administrative Specialist
Average salary	$34,038	$38,758
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $43,000	Between $25,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Providence, RI	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Lifespan	Meta
Best paying industry	Energy	Technology

Differences between clerk specialist and administrative specialist education

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

	Clerk Specialist	Administrative Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Clerk specialist vs administrative specialist demographics

Here are the differences between clerks specialist' and administrative specialists' demographics:

	Clerk Specialist	Administrative Specialist
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	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	6%	6%

Differences between clerk specialist and administrative specialist duties and responsibilities

Clerk specialist example responsibilities.

Manage orthopedic accounts regarding payment posting through IDX medical systems.
Assist in preliminary budget, preparation; prepare departmental payroll, statistical data and reports.
Check visitation/meeting rooms for cleanliness; print daily visitation/meeting room schedules; and escort parents/attendees to visitation/meeting rooms.
Answer phones with the ability to provide accurate information and education on the communicability and disease process of tuberculosis.

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.

Clerk specialist vs administrative specialist skills

Common clerk specialist skills

Data Entry, 18%
Office Equipment, 15%
Customer Service, 13%
Front Desk, 5%
Payroll, 5%
Computer System, 5%

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
Clerk Specialist
Clerk Specialist vs Administrative Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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