Office specialist vs office support specialist

The differences between office specialists and office support 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 office support specialist. Additionally, an office support specialist has an average salary of $36,549, 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 office support specialist are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.

Office specialist vs office support specialist overview

	Office Specialist	Office Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$33,477	$36,549
Hourly rate	$16.09	$17.57
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	98,760	130,301
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	47	47
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 support specialist do?

An office support specialist is in charge of performing clerical tasks to help offices maintain a smooth workflow. Among their responsibilities include preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, disseminating and organizing files, monitoring the inventory of office supplies, and processing procurement requests should there be any. They may also assist staff with projects and programs, greet visitors, and coordinate with different company departments. Furthermore, an office support specialist must enforce the company's policies and regulations.

Office specialist vs office support specialist salary

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

	Office Specialist	Office Support Specialist
Average salary	$33,477	$36,549
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $43,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Billerica, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between office specialist and office support specialist education

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

	Office Specialist	Office Support Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office specialist vs office support specialist demographics

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

	Office Specialist	Office Support Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%	Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2%
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, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.8% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office specialist and office support 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.

Office support specialist example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Create PowerPoint presentations to train employees on new software.
Add new documents and update calendars to the SharePoint website for team collaboration.
Conduct payroll accountability & evaluate for accuracy.
Process bi-weekly payroll for part-time civil service personnel.
Update SharePoint website regularly with new employee information.

Office specialist vs office support specialist skills

Common office specialist skills

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

Common office support specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 10%
Phone Calls, 7%
Office Equipment, 6%
Human Resources, 5%
Word Processing, 5%

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Office Specialist
Office Specialist vs Office Support Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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