Office specialist vs administrative office specialist

The differences between office specialists and administrative 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 specialist and an administrative office specialist. Additionally, an administrative office specialist has an average salary of $35,177, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.

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

Office specialist vs administrative office specialist overview

	Office Specialist	Administrative Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$33,477	$35,177
Hourly rate	$16.09	$16.91
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	98,760	96,945
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	2	2

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.

What does an administrative office specialist do?

An administrative office specialist helps offices to run efficiently and smoothly by performing clerical support tasks. Their responsibilities often include preparing and processing documents, arranging meetings and appointments, monitoring the budgets and expenditures, answering calls and correspondence, handling the inventory and procurement of office supplies, and developing strategies to optimize office operations. They may also address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as an administrative office specialist, it is essential to coordinate staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Office specialist vs administrative office specialist salary

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

	Office Specialist	Administrative Office Specialist
Average salary	$33,477	$35,177
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $43,000	Between $28,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between office specialist and administrative office specialist education

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

	Office Specialist	Administrative Office Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office specialist vs administrative office specialist demographics

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

	Office Specialist	Administrative Office Specialist
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 4.0% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office specialist and administrative office specialist duties and responsibilities

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.

Administrative office specialist example responsibilities.

Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Develop PowerPoint presentations for seminars and workshops.
Prepare briefings for senior level management using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Prepare bi-weekly payroll reports and special cost analyses and forecasting.
Coordinate accessibility into main office building along with identification badge and process direct deposit via state guidelines for payroll.
Coordinate travel arrangements in DTS; schedule mode of transportation, prepare trip folders, arrange lodging reservations and develop itineraries.

Office specialist vs administrative office specialist skills

Common office specialist skills

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

Common administrative office specialist skills

Customer Service, 27%
Data Entry, 8%
Word Processing, 6%
Payroll, 3%
PowerPoint, 3%
Phone Calls, 3%

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Office Specialist
Office Specialist vs Administrative Office Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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