Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer service assistants and senior customer service specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer service assistant and a senior customer service specialist. Additionally, a senior customer service specialist has an average salary of $35,466, which is higher than the $33,862 average annual salary of a customer service assistant.
The top three skills for a customer service assistant include front end, customer service and service calls. The most important skills for a senior customer service specialist are client facing, customer support, and inbound calls.
| Customer Service Assistant | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,862 | $35,466 |
| Hourly rate | $16.28 | $17.05 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 220,286 | 219,308 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A Customer Service Assistant is responsible for providing customer support by responding to inquiries and correspondence or transferring them to a particular department when necessary. The duties of a Customer Service Assistant will vary according to an assigned setting. However, it mostly revolves around answering calls, providing troubleshooting options, helping a customer navigate systems or applications, and filling out details. Furthermore, there are instances when a Customer Service Assistant must fulfill orders, process payments or refunds, and even sell services or products. All efforts are focused on attaining customer satisfaction.
Senior Customer Service Specialists perform directly around customers in a company. They are typically needed to answer customers' requests, respond to an inquiry, and resolve issues and complaints. Their duties may include data entry, file keeping, and general paperwork. Also, they supervise some representatives, monitor their progress, and serve as their mentors. Candidates for the position must have strong communication skills, analytical, and computer savvy. Additionally, they must possess relevant experience as a junior customer service representative and have excellent leadership skills.
Customer service assistants and senior customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Assistant | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,862 | $35,466 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $29,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Helena, MT | - |
| Highest paying state | Montana | - |
| Best paying company | Fidelity Investments | - |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a customer service assistant and a senior customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Assistant | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service assistants' and senior customer service specialists' demographics:
| Customer Service Assistant | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.7% Female, 70.3% | Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.8% Asian, 6.5% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 7.6% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |