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The differences between support specialists and office 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 office support specialist. Additionally, a support specialist has an average salary of $40,782, which is higher than the $36,549 average annual salary of an office support specialist.
The top three skills for a support specialist include customer service, patients and mental health. The most important skills for an office support specialist are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.
| Support Specialist | Office Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $36,549 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $17.57 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 130,301 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| 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 office support specialist is in charge of performing clerical tasks to help offices maintain a smooth workflow. Among their responsibilities include preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, disseminating and organizing files, monitoring the inventory of office supplies, and processing procurement requests should there be any. They may also assist staff with projects and programs, greet visitors, and coordinate with different company departments. Furthermore, an office support specialist must enforce the company's policies and regulations.
Support specialists and office support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Office Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $36,549 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $29,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Billerica, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Anne Arundel County Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and an office support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Office Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and office support specialists' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Office Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 17.8% Female, 82.2% |
| 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, 10.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.8% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |