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The differences between operations specialists and operations support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an operations specialist has an average salary of $54,752, which is higher than the $44,233 average annual salary of an operations support specialist.
The top three skills for an operations specialist include customer service, logistics and basic math. The most important skills for an operations support specialist are operations support, customer service, and data entry.
| Operations Specialist | Operations Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $54,752 | $44,233 |
| Hourly rate | $26.32 | $21.27 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 109,181 | 176,034 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
An operations specialist is responsible for optimizing the business' daily operations, ensuring smooth process flow to provide the best services to clients. Operations specialists' duties include analyzing business procedures, identifying opportunities for business improvement, tracking the department's metrics and activities, providing assistance to colleagues, suggesting strategies for operations efficiency, and managing customer's inquiries and complaints. An operations specialist must be an excellent team player and detail-oriented, as well as proven time-management and decision-making skills to meet clients' needs and support the business' objectives.
The duties of an operations support specialist depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around addressing issues and concerns, troubleshooting, and conducting corrective measures, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations. They may also evaluate the processes in a company, identifying vulnerabilities, and recommending improvements. Furthermore, an operations support specialist must also perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, arranging schedules, assessing workforce performance, and maintaining accurate records.
Operations specialists and operations support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Specialist | Operations Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $54,752 | $44,233 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $85,000 | Between $27,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Coatue Management | KLA |
| Best paying industry | Government | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an operations specialist and an operations support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Operations Specialist | Operations Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between operations specialists' and operations support specialists' demographics:
| Operations Specialist | Operations Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% | Male, 44.0% Female, 56.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |