An operations specialist is the brain behind the machine who coordinates the workflow over all the departments of a company. They optimize, prioritize, and analyze to make sure nothing takes more time, money, or energy than necessary. They see to it that processes that depend on one another are completed in a timely manner, that every equipment is functional and all necessary materials are on stock, that there is no empty time or overload of work in any department, and everyone is doing what they are supposed to.

Much like the conductor of an orchestra, really. With perhaps less impressive gestures. Although, who knows. They come in all shapes and sizes.

On average, they make $53,767 a year, which seems fair, considering they do have a lot on their plate.

What Does an Operations Specialist Do

There are certain skills that many operations specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed customer-service skills, listening skills and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about what an Operations Specialist does

How To Become an Operations Specialist

If you're interested in becoming an operations specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 57.1% of operations specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.6% of operations specialists have master's degrees. Even though most operations specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Operations Specialist

Operations Specialist Job Description

Operations specialists are in charge of a variety of tasks to ensure that the company's operations are running well, such as managing goods and inventory, overseeing facility and equipment maintenance, and expanding the company's network. They may also be expected to provide recommendations to improve company processes.

Learn more about Operations Specialist Job Description

Operations Specialist Career Paths

Average Salary for an Operations Specialist

Operations Specialists in America make an average salary of $54,752 per year or $26 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $85,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $35,000 per year.
Average Operations Specialist Salary
$54,752 Yearly
$26.32 hourly

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Roles and Types of Operations Specialist

The role of an operations specialist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general operations specialist responsibilities:

  • Provides exceptional customer service to existing customers
  • In a fast paced environment, you will assist in: developing
  • Administrative – run and reconcile reports. Reconciling work is completed in wip screens. Create

There are several types of operations specialist, including:

Operations Coordinator

Role:

Did you know that operations systems became widely applied as early as 4000 B.C? This was the period Egyptians began developing large projects, such as the pyramid which required organization and control of labor. In effect, we know how important operations management is in dividing up tasks and ensuring smooth production flow.

An operations coordinator is primarily responsible for supervising the progress of various departments within an organization. This involves tracking performance goals, monitoring the department's sales, procuring supplies, and negotiating contracts. Besides that, they also train employees, produce reports, and assist in administrative tasks.

Employers generally prefer operations coordinators have a bachelor's degree that is business-related but relevant work experience will be equally important. This role gives good exposure to opportunities such as project management, as well as operations director, after gaining enough experience. The salary earned is, on average, $22 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $41,934
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Operations Clerk

Role:

As an operation clerk, you are in charge of handling administrative duties in a company. The administrative duties you are to perform are responding to customers' inquiries, handling customer service, and directing guests to appropriate departments. You need to make files, records and ensure documents are easily accessible and updated. You are also expected to distribute, prepare, and sort both incoming and outgoing mails such as envelopes and packages to the appropriate channel.

As an operation clerk, you have to make use of office appliances such as printers, photocopies, and spreadsheet creation. Your presence is highly crucial because you are in charge of taking minutes of meetings and dictations. Your responsibility involves monitoring stocks of office supplies such as stationary and paperclips and giving a report when they are not available. You are to help in making travel arrangements and booking venues for events and conferences.

The basic skills of an operation clerk are good communication skills, attention to detail, excellent interpersonal skills, and familiarity with office procedures. The average salary operation clerk earns annually is $31,000, and the minimum educational criteria for an operation clerk is a high school diploma certificate.

  • Average Salary: $33,746
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Operations Representative

Role:

An operations representative carries out tasks to help out the operations manager. This role is necessary for the smooth running of customer service and transactions in your company. You will create customer databases, handle inquiries and official correspondence. Operations representatives attend meetings and take part in the planning and implementation process of strategies.

It is your responsibility to identify areas to be improved and apply the necessary remedies for correction. You will assist in the achievement of set goals by the recommendation of methods that will improve departmental procedures. This can be achieved through influential presentations and the supply of informative materials.

You must possess an associate's degree in the related field to work as an operations representative. You should also possess good communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills. Plus, it is also necessary that an applicant is detail-oriented. An operation representative makes an annual salary of $36,000 annually.

  • Average Salary: $38,127
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Operations Specialist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active operations specialist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where operations specialists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Operations Specialist Jobs By State

Operations Specialist Education

Operations Specialist Majors

34.3 %
6.8 %

Operations Specialist Degrees

Bachelors

57.1 %

Associate

19.2 %

High School Diploma

11.9 %

Top Colleges for Operations Specialists

1. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

4. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

7. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

9. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Top Skills For an Operations Specialist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 21.3% of operations specialists listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and listening skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Operations Specialist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Operations Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Operations Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Operations Specialist diversity

Operations Specialist Gender Distribution

Male
Male
51%
Female
Female
49%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among operations specialists, 49.4% of them are women, while 50.6% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among operations specialists is White, which makes up 70.4% of all operations specialists.

  • The most common foreign language among operations specialists is Spanish at 50.5%.

Online Courses For Operations Specialist That You May Like

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Best States For an Operations Specialist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an operations specialist. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Operations specialists make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $68,509. Whereas in Maryland and New Hampshire, they would average $67,856 and $67,632, respectively. While operations specialists would only make an average of $66,821 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New Hampshire

Total Operations Specialist Jobs: 395
Highest 10% Earn:
$104,000
Location Quotient:
1.26

2. Pennsylvania

Total Operations Specialist Jobs: 2,613
Highest 10% Earn:
$104,000
Location Quotient:
1.25

3. District of Columbia

Total Operations Specialist Jobs: 350
Highest 10% Earn:
$114,000
Location Quotient:
1.16
Full List Of Best States For Operations Specialists

How Do Operations Specialists Rate Their Jobs?

4/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Operations Specialist Reviews

4.0
May 2020
Pros

Being an important COG into the system. The dynamic work flow ensures that you are always well vested into the multiple projects you will assist in facilitating resources too.

Cons

Not too much that I don't like. Learning curve was steep but I'm getting better all the time.


4.0
Mar 2020
Pros

I love the people I work with, the ability my job give me to think critically, and being challenged to problem solve.

Cons

Work seems to be none-stop sometimes, especially since we are under staff. Work keeps me on my feed, but need to hire more people.


3.0
Nov 2019
Pros

Your sole goal is to achieve operational excellence. Your job description grows with you. It's flexible in terms on variety of subjects you can work with but at the end it comes to the same goal, evaluation methods.

Cons

It's a wide role and in organizations/departments/teams that are less mature - you can get lost in the chaos.


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Top Operations Specialist Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ operations specialists and discovered their number of operations specialist opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Bank of America was the best, especially with an average salary of $35,607. JPMorgan Chase & Co. follows up with an average salary of $56,901, and then comes Wells Fargo with an average of $35,091. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as an operations specialist. The employers include Charles Schwab, Veeva Systems, and CareSource

Most Common Employers For Operations Specialist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Google$104,575$50.28139
2Apple$83,718$40.25161
3Edward Jones$77,499$37.26137
4BNY Mellon$71,869$34.55139
5Citi$70,474$33.88323
6Waste Management$63,908$30.73301
7United States Marine Corps$60,251$28.97382
8US Air Conditioning Distributors$58,889$28.31169
9JPMorgan Chase & Co.$56,901$27.36956
10Robert Half$50,506$24.28136

Operations Specialist Videos

Becoming an Operations Specialist FAQs

How Long Does It Take To Become An Operations Specialist?

It takes 4 years of professional experience to become an operations specialist. That is the time it takes to learn specific operations specialist skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 7 to 9 years years to become an operations specialist.

Do You Need A Degree To Be An Operations Specialist?

No, you do not need a degree to become an operations specialist. However, many employers prefer candidates who hold an associate or bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, or a related field.

What Are The Duties Of An Operations Specialist?

The duties of an operations specialist are to manage all aspects of a company's daily operations.

Responsibilities Of An Operations Specialist:

  • Managing inventory

  • Ensuring the correct ordering of supplies

  • Monitoring the maintenance and replacement of operational equipment

  • Optimizing processes

  • Overseeing the operations team

  • Liaising the external stakeholders

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