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The differences between office support specialists and administrative supports 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 support specialist and an administrative support. Additionally, an administrative support has an average salary of $37,692, which is higher than the $36,549 average annual salary of an office support specialist.
The top three skills for an office support specialist include customer service, data entry and phone calls. The most important skills for an administrative support are customer service, administrative tasks, and data entry.
| Office Support Specialist | Administrative Support | |
| Yearly salary | $36,549 | $37,692 |
| Hourly rate | $17.57 | $18.12 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 130,301 | 114,480 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.
Office support specialists and administrative supports have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Support Specialist | Administrative Support | |
| Average salary | $36,549 | $37,692 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Billerica, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Anne Arundel County Public Schools | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between an office support specialist and an administrative support in terms of educational background:
| Office Support Specialist | Administrative Support | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office support specialists' and administrative supports' demographics:
| Office Support Specialist | Administrative Support | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |