Office worker vs office support specialist

The differences between office workers 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 worker and an office support specialist. Additionally, an office worker has an average salary of $41,003, which is higher than the $36,549 average annual salary of an office support specialist.

The top three skills for an office worker include data entry, administrative tasks and powerpoint. The most important skills for an office support specialist are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.

Office worker vs office support specialist overview

	Office Worker	Office Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$41,003	$36,549
Hourly rate	$19.71	$17.57
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	84,397	130,301
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office worker do?

An office worker is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of the business. Office workers assist in receiving calls to respond to the clients' inquiries and concerns, as well as welcoming visitors, verifying their appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department for their business needs. They also do data processing, sorting mail, and filing documents for easy retrieval and reference, especially during meetings and company activities.

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 worker vs office support specialist salary

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

	Office Worker	Office Support Specialist
Average salary	$41,003	$36,549
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $71,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Billerica, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Fred Hutch	Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Best paying industry	Education	Finance

Differences between office worker and office support specialist education

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

	Office Worker	Office Support Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office worker vs office support specialist demographics

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

	Office Worker	Office Support Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%	Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	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 worker and office support specialist duties and responsibilities

Office worker example responsibilities.

Manage daily office operations maintaining accurate records for payroll and other checks.
Train in installing windows, showers and glass into homes and commercial businesses.
Used QuickBooks to accurately compute and produce invoices to be mail to various customer companies.
Serve as office secretary, organizing files, answering phones, delivering payroll and deposits, organize incoming mail and invoices.
Assist patients with sensitive and detail orient documentation, schedule appointments and verify insurance benefits.
Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.

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 worker vs office support specialist skills

Common office worker skills

Data Entry, 28%
Administrative Tasks, 22%
PowerPoint, 18%
Payroll, 16%
Customer Service, 4%
Telephone Calls, 2%

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 Worker
Office Worker vs Office Support Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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