Office helper vs office specialist

The differences between office helpers 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 helper and an office specialist. Additionally, an office specialist has an average salary of $33,477, which is higher than the $31,661 average annual salary of an office helper.

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

Office helper vs office specialist overview

	Office Helper	Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$31,661	$33,477
Hourly rate	$15.22	$16.09
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	49,356	98,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

Office helper vs office specialist salary

Office helpers and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Helper	Office Specialist
Average salary	$31,661	$33,477
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $38,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between office helper and office specialist education

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

	Office Helper	Office Specialist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Office helper vs office specialist demographics

Here are the differences between office helpers' and office specialists' demographics:

	Office Helper	Office Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 21.8% Female, 78.2%	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 7.9% White, 57.7% 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%

Differences between office helper and office specialist duties and responsibilities

Office helper example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Write checks, write permits, run errands, scan and file paperwork, certify payroll, pay bills.
Verify and submit payroll bi-weekly.
Develop innovative PowerPoint presentations used by different departments within the company to promote growth of the company.
Demonstrate ability to maintain composure and work efficiently in a fast-pace environment while following HIPAA guidelines.

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.

Office helper vs office specialist skills

Common office helper skills

Data Entry, 28%
Customer Service, 17%
Office Equipment, 10%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Front Desk, 5%

Common office specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 10%
Patients, 9%
Office Equipment, 6%
Phone Calls, 6%
Word Processing, 4%