Office supervisor vs office specialist

The differences between office supervisors and office specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an office supervisor, becoming an office specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an office supervisor has an average salary of $42,965, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.

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

Office supervisor vs office specialist overview

	Office Supervisor	Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$42,965	$33,477
Hourly rate	$20.66	$16.09
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	55,683	98,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	2

What does an office supervisor do?

An office supervisor is responsible for overseeing the progress of the workflow and workforce in an office or similar setting, ensuring everything is running smoothly. Aside from this, they must also carry out other tasks such as processing paperwork, preparing reports and presentations, managing schedules, responding to inquiries, and handling correspondence. There are also instances when a supervisor must evaluate staff and address any issues. Furthermore, as an office supervisor, it is also their responsibility to implement the policies and guidelines of the company.

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.

Office supervisor vs office specialist salary

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

	Office Supervisor	Office Specialist
Average salary	$42,965	$33,477
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $60,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Jersey City, NJ	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Epiq	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between office supervisor and office specialist education

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

	Office Supervisor	Office Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Western Carolina University

Office supervisor vs office specialist demographics

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

	Office Supervisor	Office Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 25.7% Female, 74.3%	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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	8%	6%

Differences between office supervisor and office specialist duties and responsibilities

Office supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage A/R, A/P, credentialing, surgery scheduling, and coordinate patient referrals to other physicians.
Create, execute, and maintain all AP and AR procedures
Set up presentations for clients with Microsoft PowerPoint.
Conduct all training in the office using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Process payroll in QuickBooks for up to 60 staff members.
Assist residents and families with billing issues, insurance questions and applying for Medicaid nursing home grants.

Show more

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.

Show more

Office supervisor vs office specialist skills

Common office supervisor skills

Patients, 17%
Office Procedures, 8%
Data Entry, 6%
Office Operations, 5%
Quality Customer Service, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

Common office specialist skills

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

Office Supervisor vs. similar jobs

Office Supervisor related careers

Office Supervisor related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z