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The differences between contracting officers and operations specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a contracting officer has an average salary of $60,007, which is higher than the $54,752 average annual salary of an operations specialist.
The top three skills for a contracting officer include contractor proposals, contract administration and contract management. The most important skills for an operations specialist are customer service, logistics, and basic math.
| Contracting Officer | Operations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $60,007 | $54,752 |
| Hourly rate | $28.85 | $26.32 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,896 | 109,181 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
In government agencies, a Contracting Officer plays a vital role in securing contracts for different projects. They are responsible for liaising with internal and external parties, conducting research and analyses, developing plans to attain project requirements, negotiating contracts, and procuring materials according to standards. They are also responsible for supervising the administrative processes related to the deals, from planning to execution, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Moreover, it is essential to function as a contracting officer while adhering to government policies and regulations.
An operations specialist is responsible for optimizing the business' daily operations, ensuring smooth process flow to provide the best services to clients. Operations specialists' duties include analyzing business procedures, identifying opportunities for business improvement, tracking the department's metrics and activities, providing assistance to colleagues, suggesting strategies for operations efficiency, and managing customer's inquiries and complaints. An operations specialist must be an excellent team player and detail-oriented, as well as proven time-management and decision-making skills to meet clients' needs and support the business' objectives.
Contracting officers and operations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contracting Officer | Operations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $60,007 | $54,752 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $95,000 | Between $35,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Coatue Management |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a contracting officer and an operations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Contracting Officer | Operations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between contracting officers' and operations specialists' demographics:
| Contracting Officer | Operations Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3% | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |