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The differences between operations support specialists and operations administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an operations support specialist and an operations administrator. Additionally, an operations administrator has an average salary of $50,962, which is higher than the $44,233 average annual salary of an operations support specialist.
The top three skills for an operations support specialist include operations support, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for an operations administrator are various management, data entry, and clerical support.
| Operations Support Specialist | Operations Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $44,233 | $50,962 |
| Hourly rate | $21.27 | $24.50 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 176,034 | 115,828 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
An operations administrator primarily edits, plans, coordinates, or directs the administrative services of an organization. This job involves keeping track of the organization's inventory, managing maintenance issues, offering administrative support, and answering phone calls. Among the necessary skills for the administrators are customer service or relations, timely delivery, data entry, order purchasing, and communication skills. They should also be able to manage the financial statements of the organization aside from its business operations.
Operations support specialists and operations administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Support Specialist | Operations Administrator | |
| Average salary | $44,233 | $50,962 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $71,000 | Between $31,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | KLA | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between an operations support specialist and an operations administrator in terms of educational background:
| Operations Support Specialist | Operations Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between operations support specialists' and operations administrators' demographics:
| Operations Support Specialist | Operations Administrator | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.0% Female, 56.0% | Male, 34.8% Female, 65.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |