Office specialist vs office secretary

The differences between office specialists and office secretaries 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 office secretary. Additionally, an office specialist has an average salary of $33,477, which is higher than the $33,118 average annual salary of an office secretary.

The top three skills for an office specialist include customer service, data entry and patients. The most important skills for an office secretary are data entry, phone calls, and telephone calls.

Office specialist vs office secretary overview

	Office Specialist	Office Secretary
Yearly salary	$33,477	$33,118
Hourly rate	$16.09	$15.92
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	98,760	87,771
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
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 office secretary do?

An office secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to ensure the smooth flow of operations and prevent delays with project deliverables. Office secretaries also welcome guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate department or personnel for their appointments. They schedule meetings, sort documents, handle incoming and outgoing mail, as well as manage inventories for the adequacy of office supplies. An office secretary must have excellent time-management and multitasking skills to conduct tasks within a strict deadline and minimal supervision.

Office specialist vs office secretary salary

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

	Office Specialist	Office Secretary
Average salary	$33,477	$33,118
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $43,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	Finance	Telecommunication

Differences between office specialist and office secretary education

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

	Office Specialist	Office Secretary
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Office specialist vs office secretary demographics

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

	Office Specialist	Office Secretary
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%	Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3%
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, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office specialist and office secretary 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.

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Office secretary example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Research and keep updated on Medicare and Medicaid benefits, qualification requirements, and the legal and financial effects of options.
Determine client eligibility for Medicaid transportation.
Process and submit payroll information and invoices.
Maintain departmental inventory, purchasing/travel paperwork, and process payroll.
Answer customer phone calls-Record daily business transactions-Manage QuickBooks and bank accounts-Enter parts invoices and take inventory

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Office specialist vs office secretary skills

Common office specialist skills

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

Common office secretary skills

Data Entry, 12%
Phone Calls, 11%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Scheduling Appointments, 7%
Office Procedures, 7%
Payroll, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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