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The differences between office associates 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 an office associate and an office specialist. Additionally, an office specialist has an average salary of $33,477, which is higher than the $31,276 average annual salary of an office associate.
The top three skills for an office associate include customer service, patients and data entry. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.
| Office Associate | Office Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $31,276 | $33,477 |
| Hourly rate | $15.04 | $16.09 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 80,214 | 98,760 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Office associates have varied duties and responsibilities within an organization. They are responsible for the cash management operation, customer service functions, and administrative services. Other responsibilities include organizing and maintaining files and documents, administering all bookkeeping activities, and managing the entire office. Office associates also oversee the overall human resource activities within an organization, such as handling employment forms and health insurance administration. The skills required for this position include communication skills, organizational skills, and active listening skills.
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.
Office associates and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Associate | Office Specialist | |
| Average salary | $31,276 | $33,477 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $25,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Persistent Systems | Brookhaven National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between an office associate and an office specialist in terms of educational background:
| Office Associate | Office Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office associates' and office specialists' demographics:
| Office Associate | Office Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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 Percentage | 6% | 6% |