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The differences between secretaries 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 secretary and an office specialist. Additionally, a secretary has an average salary of $36,442, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.
The top three skills for a secretary include customer service, telephone calls and payroll. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.
| Secretary | Office Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,442 | $33,477 |
| Hourly rate | $17.52 | $16.09 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 69,315 | 98,760 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department. They manage schedules and appointments, often handling the calendar in the office. They are also responsible for keeping files organized, whether physical or digital copies. During office meetings, secretaries are in charge of documenting the minutes of the meeting and highlighting the action steps that need to be taken. They may also be assigned to check on concerned departments who need to present deliverables in the next office meeting.
An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.
Secretaries and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Secretary | Office Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,442 | $33,477 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $51,000 | Between $25,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith | Brookhaven National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between a secretary and an office specialist in terms of educational background:
| Secretary | Office Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between secretaries' and office specialists' demographics:
| Secretary | Office Specialist | |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.1% Female, 89.9% | Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 3.9% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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% |