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The differences between support specialists and administrative support 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 support specialist and an administrative support specialist. Additionally, a support specialist has an average salary of $40,782, which is higher than the $38,244 average annual salary of an administrative support specialist.
The top three skills for a support specialist include customer service, patients and mental health. The most important skills for an administrative support specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.
| Support Specialist | Administrative Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $38,244 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $18.39 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 139,654 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| 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.
An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.
Support specialists and administrative support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Administrative Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $38,244 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | King County |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Government |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and an administrative support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Administrative Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and administrative support specialists' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Administrative Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 20.5% Female, 79.5% |
| 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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |