Department secretary vs administrative support specialist

The differences between department secretaries and administrative 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 department secretary and an administrative support specialist. Additionally, an administrative support specialist has an average salary of $38,244, which is higher than the $35,473 average annual salary of a department secretary.

The top three skills for a department secretary include patients, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative support specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Department secretary vs administrative support specialist overview

	Department Secretary	Administrative Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$35,473	$38,244
Hourly rate	$17.05	$18.39
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	80,303	139,654
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a department secretary do?

A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes. They handle the scheduling of meetings and conferences, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, directing visitors to the appropriate personnel and department, sorting files, and submitting business transactions and financial reports. A department secretary also recommends strategic procedures to generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability.

What does an administrative support specialist do?

An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.

Department secretary vs administrative support specialist salary

Department secretaries and administrative support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Department Secretary	Administrative Support Specialist
Average salary	$35,473	$38,244
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $47,000	Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Brigham and Women's Hospital	King County
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between department secretary and administrative support specialist education

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

	Department Secretary	Administrative Support Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Western Carolina University

Department secretary vs administrative support specialist demographics

Here are the differences between department secretaries' and administrative support specialists' demographics:

	Department Secretary	Administrative Support Specialist
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 7.0% Female, 93.0%	Male, 20.5% Female, 79.5%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between department secretary and administrative support specialist duties and responsibilities

Department secretary example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Volunteer for ISO auditor duties to ensure ISO procedures are followed for certification.
Perform payroll functions, including maintaining timekeeping information and processing and submitting payroll.
Prepare materials for monthly board of directors meetings including PowerPoint presentations, agendas and minutes.
Complete all payroll documentation, enter all payroll documentation into computer program, and submit to payroll department.
Create PowerPoint presentations used for business development, organize files and develop spreadsheets, fax reports and scan documents.

Administrative support specialist example responsibilities.

Create PowerPoint presentations, manage spreadsheet information/graphs and provide reports as necessary.
Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Assist SharePoint intranet creation and documentation.
Generate PowerPoint presentations for meetings and training.
Maintain and post unit documents utilizing SharePoint.
Maintain files on all division civilian personnel, submit accurate payroll sheets for assign civilian personnel.

Department secretary vs administrative support specialist skills

Common department secretary skills

Patients, 22%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Word Processing, 4%

Common administrative support specialist skills

Customer Service, 16%
Data Entry, 8%
Patients, 6%
PowerPoint, 5%
Administrative Functions, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Department Secretary
Department Secretary vs Administrative Support Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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