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The differences between office support specialists and 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 support specialist and a specialist. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, 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 a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Office Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,549 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $17.57 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | -5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 130,301 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| 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.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Office support specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,549 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Billerica, MA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Anne Arundel County Public Schools | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between an office support specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Office Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between office support specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Office Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 11% |