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Department secretary vs office specialist

The differences between department secretaries and office 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 office specialist. Additionally, a department secretary has an average salary of $35,473, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.

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

Department secretary vs office specialist overview

Department SecretaryOffice Specialist
Yearly salary$35,473$33,477
Hourly rate$17.05$16.09
Growth rate-8%-5%
Number of jobs80,30398,760
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 39%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age5047
Years of experience22

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 office specialist do?

An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.

Department secretary vs office specialist salary

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

Department SecretaryOffice Specialist
Average salary$35,473$33,477
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $47,000Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying CityOakland, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMassachusetts
Best paying companyBrigham and Women's HospitalBrookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industryGovernmentFinance

Differences between department secretary and office specialist education

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

Department SecretaryOffice Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 39%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityWestern Carolina University

Department secretary vs office specialist demographics

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

Department SecretaryOffice Specialist
Average age5047
Gender ratioMale, 7.0% Female, 93.0%Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between department secretary and office 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.
  • Show more

Office specialist example responsibilities.

  • Provide support for enrolling patients into health coverage programs and manage sensitive patient information to ensure accuracy and confidentiality.
  • Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
  • Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
  • Provide assistance to office staff including preparing and proofreading memos and grants, transcribing meeting minutes for staff and answering phones.
  • Perform multiple bookkeeping duties including departmental payroll, print financial reports and other financial material as needed.
  • Communicate HIPAA compliance to staff, field and outside agencies.
  • Show more

Department secretary vs office specialist skills

Common department secretary skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Data Entry, 7%
  • Medical Terminology, 7%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Word Processing, 4%
Common office specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Data Entry, 10%
  • Patients, 9%
  • Office Equipment, 6%
  • Phone Calls, 6%
  • Word Processing, 4%

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