Program clerk vs office specialist

The differences between program clerks and office specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a program clerk and an office specialist. Additionally, an office specialist has an average salary of $33,477, which is higher than the $29,631 average annual salary of a program clerk.

The top three skills for a program clerk include data entry, word processing and copy machines. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Program clerk vs office specialist overview

	Program Clerk	Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$29,631	$33,477
Hourly rate	$14.25	$16.09
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	129,589	98,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

Program clerk vs office specialist salary

Program clerks and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Clerk	Office Specialist
Average salary	$29,631	$33,477
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $37,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Earthjustice	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Education	Finance

Differences between program clerk and office specialist education

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

	Program Clerk	Office Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Western Carolina University

Program clerk vs office specialist demographics

Here are the differences between program clerks' and office specialists' demographics:

	Program Clerk	Office Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 25.6% Female, 74.4%	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between program clerk and office specialist duties and responsibilities

Program clerk example responsibilities.

Monitor patients in hospital by name and injury in addition to identification and personal belonging assistance.
Schedule appointments to perform HUD require interviews making sure contractors/sub-contractors follow lead-safe rules and regulations.

Office specialist example responsibilities.

Provide support for enrolling patients into health coverage programs and manage sensitive patient information to ensure accuracy and confidentiality.
Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Provide assistance to office staff including preparing and proofreading memos and grants, transcribing meeting minutes for staff and answering phones.
Perform multiple bookkeeping duties including departmental payroll, print financial reports and other financial material as needed.
Communicate HIPAA compliance to staff, field and outside agencies.

Program clerk vs office specialist skills

Common program clerk skills

Data Entry, 27%
Word Processing, 10%
Copy Machines, 6%
Customer Support, 6%
Database Systems, 6%
Clerical Support, 3%

Common office specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 10%
Patients, 9%
Office Equipment, 6%
Phone Calls, 6%
Word Processing, 4%