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The differences between order processing specialists and customer support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an order processing specialist, becoming a customer support specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a customer support specialist has an average salary of $39,470, which is higher than the $37,540 average annual salary of an order processing specialist.
The top three skills for an order processing specialist include customer service, data entry and purchase orders. The most important skills for a customer support specialist are customer support, phone calls, and compassion.
| Order Processing Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,540 | $39,470 |
| Hourly rate | $18.05 | $18.98 |
| Growth rate | - | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 46,043 | 259,592 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
An order processing specialist is a business administrator in charge of processing customer orders by recording and processes daily purchases and activating new customer accounts. Order processing specialists work in collaboration with other teams such as sales and marketing for accurate capture and validation of orders. You may also be required to communicate with customers to confirm orders and ensure that customer requests are met accurately and in time for delivery or pick up.
A customer support specialist is responsible for assisting a customer's inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services the organization offers. Customer support specialists handle customer issues and resolve them promptly, escalating high-level complaints to the immediate supervisors. A support specialist will also replace products or process payment refunds as needed. Their goal is to maintain the highest customer satisfaction and keep a good reputation for the company while driving revenues and increasing profitability. A customer support specialist must have outstanding communication skills, as well as the ability to multi-task to record customer complaint cases while providing resolution.
Order processing specialists and customer support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Order Processing Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,540 | $39,470 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $52,000 | Between $28,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mahwah, NJ | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Schneider Electric Industrial Services | Micron Technology |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between an order processing specialist and a customer support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Order Processing Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between order processing specialists' and customer support specialists' demographics:
| Order Processing Specialist | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.7% Female, 70.3% | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.9% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |