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General internship vs office specialist

The differences between general interns 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 general internship and an office specialist. Additionally, a general internship has an average salary of $61,485, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.

The top three skills for a general internship include internship program, patients and powerpoint. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

General internship vs office specialist overview

General InternshipOffice Specialist
Yearly salary$61,485$33,477
Hourly rate$29.56$16.09
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs88,76198,760
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

What does a general internship do?

A general intern is responsible for supporting the business operations by performing administrative and clerical duties under the supervision of a direct manager or tenured staff. Interns shadow employees from different teams to have a good grasp of the services and processes offered by the company, understanding each group's functions, and analyzing how the business works for the clients. They also attend and write meeting reports, assist with organizing programs and events, and conduct data processing procedures.

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.

General internship vs office specialist salary

General interns and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

General InternshipOffice Specialist
Average salary$61,485$33,477
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $84,000Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateWashingtonMassachusetts
Best paying companyGeneral MotorsBrookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industryProfessionalFinance

Differences between general internship and office specialist education

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

General InternshipOffice Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityWestern Carolina University

General internship vs office specialist demographics

Here are the differences between general interns' and office specialists' demographics:

General InternshipOffice Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 51.4% Female, 48.6%Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 10.6% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%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 general internship and office specialist duties and responsibilities

General internship example responsibilities.

  • Manage a web-base graphical interface that utilize a SQL database to better track fabrication lab operations.
  • Update and revise both standard and project specific engineering drawings in AutoCAD.
  • Update websites and Facebook page on the latest collections, successfully increasing followers and web traffic.
  • Work extensively with AutoCAD drafting floor plans, general planning, and designing using ADA standards.
  • Needle guidance for radiologists in thyroid fine needle aspirations and breast core biopsies under sterile conditions.
  • Handle all A/P functions with growing responsibility in the areas of A/R, purchasing and personnel administration.
  • 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

General internship vs office specialist skills

Common general internship skills
  • Internship Program, 21%
  • Patients, 19%
  • PowerPoint, 11%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Financial Statements, 4%
  • Data Analysis, 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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