Office technician vs office support specialist

The differences between office technicians 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 technician and an office support specialist. Additionally, an office support specialist has an average salary of $36,549, which is higher than the $34,956 average annual salary of an office technician.

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

Office technician vs office support specialist overview

	Office Technician	Office Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$34,956	$36,549
Hourly rate	$16.81	$17.57
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	82,512	130,301
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office technician do?

An Office Technician handles installation and repair tasks by using power tools and manual equipment safely and effectively. Besides installing, maintaining, and repairing central office equipment, an office technician also installs, tests, and labels cable lines. They deactivate, activate, and maintain office equipment. Other duties performed by office technicians include removing non-functional and unused office equipment, managing equipment stations and telecommunication rooms cabling, and maintaining inspection, repair, maintenance, and installation documents. Also, these professionals work as per environmental, safety, and health policies.

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 technician vs office support specialist salary

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

	Office Technician	Office Support Specialist
Average salary	$34,956	$36,549
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $48,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	Billerica, MA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Motorola Solutions	Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Best paying industry	Construction	Finance

Differences between office technician and office support specialist education

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

	Office Technician	Office Support Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office technician vs office support specialist demographics

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

	Office Technician	Office Support Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%	Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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 technician and office support specialist duties and responsibilities

Office technician example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Interact with SCO divisions, other agencies and campuses and the public, to resolve distribution problems concerning mail and payroll.
Communicate payroll information with employees.
Verify eligibility and coverage with Medicaid and Medicare.
Certify to perform refraction to patients participating in clinical trials.
Provide patients with surgical and procedural information and instructions as appropriate.

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 technician vs office support specialist skills

Common office technician skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 11%
Office Equipment, 7%
Office Procedures, 7%
Word Processing, 5%
Payroll, 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 and Administrative Industry
Office Technician
Office Technician vs Office Support Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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