How To Become A Front Office Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a front office specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

A front office specialist is an individual who works in the reception or lobby of a business or organization and greets visitors, answers phones, and directs inquiries to the appropriate department or staff member. They also handle administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, managing correspondence, and maintaining records. They must have excellent communication and customer service skills. Additionally, front office specialists provide support to other departments within the organization such as accounting or human resources.

ScoreFront Office SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,707

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.04%

Asian 7.23%

Black or African American 11.15%

Hispanic or Latino 23.67%

Unknown 4.61%

White 52.30%

Gender

female 92.24%

male 7.76%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a front office specialist?

Pros

Opportunities for career growth and advancement
Interacting with a wide variety of people on a daily basis
Developing strong communication and customer service skills
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
Opportunity to build a professional network

Cons

Dealing with difficult or unhappy customers
High stress levels during peak periods
Repetitive tasks can be tedious and monotonous
Long hours standing or sitting at a desk can be uncomfortable
Working weekends, holidays, and evenings may be required

Key steps to become a front office specialist

Explore front office specialist education requirements

Most common front office specialist degrees

Associate

30.4 %

Bachelor's

24.5 %

High School Diploma

15.7 %

Start to develop specific front office specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	26.41%
Customer Service	8.54%
Medical Terminology	7.80%
Check-In	7.63%
Patient Care	6.26%

Complete relevant front office specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New front office specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a front office specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real front office specialist resumes.

Research front office specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Present necessary medical information, such as researching and applying CPT and ICD-9 codes.
Code and post the patient encounters in accordance to ICD-9 regulations.
Maintain patient insurances and medical records in accordance with company and HIPPA guidelines.

Prepare your front office specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your front office specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a front office specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable front office specialist resume templates

Build a professional front office specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your front office specialist resume.