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The differences between support specialists and administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a support specialist and an administrative assistant. Additionally, a support specialist has an average salary of $40,782, which is higher than the $34,945 average annual salary of an administrative assistant.
The top three skills for a support specialist include customer service, patients and mental health. The most important skills for an administrative assistant are customer service, data entry, and powerpoint.
| Support Specialist | Administrative Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $34,945 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $16.80 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 65,769 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | 4.14 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 42 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A support specialist is responsible for assisting technical and administrative support, depending on the business need. Support specialists must have extensive knowledge of the services of the organization they work for to assist customers with their inquiries and resolve complaints efficiently. A support specialist maintains documents of issue resolution, providing recommendations to improve business strategies and procedures. Support specialists must be well-versed on technology systems, perform basic troubleshooting, and secure databases. They should also have impeccable customer service and communication skills to attend with customers' needs and requests.
Administrative assistants, or admin assistants, do general clerical and administrative activities. Their duties involve organizing and maintaining files and records, preparing documents, scheduling meetings and appointments, and providing general support in the office. Administrative assistants handle incoming and outgoing official correspondences, take minutes of important meetings and manage calls to the main office number. They also assist executives in providing structure to their day by managing their schedule, drafting e-mails, and other activities that executives may need assistance in. Administrative assistants should have the following skills: organizing, business writing, decision-making, and communication.
Support specialists and administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Administrative Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $34,945 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $26,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Westfield State University |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and an administrative assistant in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Administrative Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and administrative assistants' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Administrative Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |