Firm administrator vs department administrator

The differences between firm administrators and department administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a firm administrator, becoming a department administrator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a firm administrator has an average salary of $70,547, which is higher than the $49,768 average annual salary of a department administrator.

The top three skills for a firm administrator include payroll processing, law firm and litigation. The most important skills for a department administrator are patient care, patients, and financial reports.

Firm administrator vs department administrator overview

	Firm Administrator	Department Administrator
Yearly salary	$70,547	$49,768
Hourly rate	$33.92	$23.93
Growth rate	-8%	5%
Number of jobs	51,906	84,441
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	47	43
Years of experience	6	2

Firm administrator vs department administrator salary

Firm administrators and department administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Firm Administrator	Department Administrator
Average salary	$70,547	$49,768
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $99,000	Between $34,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	MacArthur Foundation
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between firm administrator and department administrator education

There are a few differences between a firm administrator and a department administrator in terms of educational background:

	Firm Administrator	Department Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Firm administrator vs department administrator demographics

Here are the differences between firm administrators' and department administrators' demographics:

	Firm Administrator	Department Administrator
Average age	47	43
Gender ratio	Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6%	Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 5.2% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between firm administrator and department administrator duties and responsibilities

Firm administrator example responsibilities.

Manage the purchase of supplies, A/R, A/P, general bookkeeping, trust account, and client billing.
Direct Medicaid health plan management division activities (manage care program operations, quality improvement, and contract administration).
Complete and review bi-monthly QuickBooks's journal entries.
Perform bank reconciliation and month-end close; submit to CPA for tax review.
Prepare in house semi monthly payroll for staff along with partner compensation with QuickBooks.
Act as liaison and communication link between management and staff, and among all offices for this CPA firm.

Department administrator example responsibilities.

Manage calendars, correspondence, logs, reports and maintain documentation in Prolog.
Lead implementation of local area network and upgrade of scheduling, billing and A/R software.
Manage patient records ensuring confidentiality and compliance with all HIPAA regulations.
Initiate and manage the implementation of facilities management oversight of external properties.
Direct Medicaid health plan management division activities (manage care program operations, quality improvement, and contract administration).
Verify vendor quotes and resolve invoice discrepancies.

Firm administrator vs department administrator skills

Common firm administrator skills

Payroll Processing, 16%
Law Firm, 12%
Litigation, 5%
Office Equipment, 3%
General Ledger, 3%
CPA, 3%

Common department administrator skills

Patient Care, 10%
Patients, 10%
Financial Reports, 7%
Human Resources, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Departmental Policies, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Firm Administrator
Firm Administrator vs Department Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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