Senior administrative specialist vs administrative clerk

The differences between senior administrative specialists and administrative clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior administrative specialist, becoming an administrative clerk takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior administrative specialist has an average salary of $43,864, which is higher than the $32,327 average annual salary of an administrative clerk.

The top three skills for a senior administrative specialist include powerpoint, logistics and travel arrangements. The most important skills for an administrative clerk are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Senior administrative specialist vs administrative clerk overview

	Senior Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Yearly salary	$43,864	$32,327
Hourly rate	$21.09	$15.54
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	57,049	137,639
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	49	47
Years of experience	4	2

What does a senior administrative specialist do?

A senior administrative specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support business operations and ensuring the efficient and timely submission of outputs and business reports. Senior administrative specialists assist the executive management in tracking appointments and travels, coordinating with the client for scheduled meetings, negotiating contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors, and responding to clients' inquiries and concerns or leading them to the correct personnel for their business needs. A senior administrative specialist must be highly communicative and organizational to do tasks within deadlines and under minimal supervision.

What does an administrative clerk do?

An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments. The clerks often set up office meetings and invite reliable speakers. Also, they do research and prepare reports or presentations. Candidates for the job must be organized, detail-oriented, and can manage their time well. They must be tech-savvy and have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping. The salary depends on their experience, industry, and location of the job.

Senior administrative specialist vs administrative clerk salary

Senior administrative specialists and administrative clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Average salary	$43,864	$32,327
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $68,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Beverly Hills, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	BNY Mellon	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between senior administrative specialist and administrative clerk education

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

	Senior Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Senior administrative specialist vs administrative clerk demographics

Here are the differences between senior administrative specialists' and administrative clerks' demographics:

	Senior Administrative Specialist	Administrative Clerk
Average age	49	47
Gender ratio	Male, 19.4% Female, 80.6%	Male, 27.9% Female, 72.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	10%	6%

Differences between senior administrative specialist and administrative clerk duties and responsibilities

Senior administrative specialist example responsibilities.

Oversee the activities of a contract coordinators including managing daily operations and providing additional training and guidance as needed.
Perform payroll calculation and administrative tasks to include processing of deductions and additions as required.
Maintain knowledge of and assure adherence to HIPAA rules and regulations.
Assist in the transition of project data from multiple share drives to the appropriate location within SharePoint.
Maintain SharePoint sites, resulting in improve communications with cross-functional teams.
Develop PowerPoint educational presentations for national, regional, and local-level direct service providers.

Administrative clerk example responsibilities.

Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Assist teachers with GED packets for students.
Ship orders via customers freight line request (ex.
Schedule and administer the GED exam upon the completion of the inmate's profile.
Enter data in spreadsheets for reports, auction items, payroll and monthly utility accounts.
Process all DMV registration, titles, title flips and plates using CVR and TriVin programs.

Senior administrative specialist vs administrative clerk skills

Common senior administrative specialist skills

PowerPoint, 13%
Logistics, 7%
Travel Arrangements, 5%
Office Procedures, 5%
Data Entry, 5%
SR, 5%

Common administrative clerk skills

Customer Service, 17%
Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 9%
Word Processing, 6%
Payroll Data, 5%
Database Systems, 4%

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Senior Administrative Specialist
Senior Administrative Specialist vs Administrative Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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