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First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers vs Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks: what changes?

Consider First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers if you want to directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers. Consider Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks if you would rather coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers and Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

National median pay (2025)
$69,500
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience
Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing
BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate
Supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
127,400
Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers brief

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

National median pay (2025)
$59,650
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
32,600
Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 1.3% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Typical preparation differs.

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

2

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has the edge on median pay

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers is at $69,500, compared with $59,650 for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks.

3

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has the edge on annual openings

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers is at 127,400 annual openings, compared with 32,600 annual openings for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks.

4

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has the edge on projected growth

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers is at 0.1% projected growth, compared with -1.3% projected growth for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks.

61.5/ 100

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

vs
57/ 100

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers vs Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

DimensionFirst-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support WorkersProduction, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
Median pay (2025)$69,500$59,650
Pay percentile60.9 percentile47.4 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)0.1%-1.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)127,40032,600
2025 employment1,506,100392,100
How you qualifyHigh school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 yearsHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 3Job Zone 2
Related work experiencePrior related experience: less than 5 years.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingBLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.