Administrative assistant/communications vs administrative office assistant

The differences between administrative assistants/communications and administrative office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an administrative assistant/communications and an administrative office assistant. Additionally, an administrative assistant/communications has an average salary of $35,363, which is higher than the $33,318 average annual salary of an administrative office assistant.

The top three skills for an administrative assistant/communications include data entry, powerpoint and provides administrative support. The most important skills for an administrative office assistant are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.

Administrative assistant/communications vs administrative office assistant overview

	Administrative Assistant/Communications	Administrative Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$35,363	$33,318
Hourly rate	$17.00	$16.02
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	63,399	81,528
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative assistant/communications do?

An administrative assistant for communications is responsible for handling administrative duties to ensure that corporate communications and announcements are disseminated across the organization and media platforms appropriately. Administrative assistants for communications review documents and files to check for accuracy and conduct revisions as needed before publication. They also manage media relations, create promotional campaigns, and coordinate with clients for any important updates regarding business performance. An administrative assistant for communications must be highly reliable and organizational to work under minimal supervision and meet strict deadlines.

What does an administrative office assistant do?

An administrative office assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to assist in daily management operations. These duties include taking calls and responding to client and customers' inquiries and concerns, scheduling meetings and conferences, organizing files and submitting required documents, sorting invoices for release, processing travel arrangements, receiving emails, forwarding reports to the appropriate department, and coordinating with company's events. An administrative assistant must be detail-oriented, as well as having excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties even under minimal supervision.

Administrative assistant/communications vs administrative office assistant salary

Administrative assistants/communications and administrative office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Assistant/Communications	Administrative Office Assistant
Average salary	$35,363	$33,318
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $44,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Hawaii
Best paying company	Northrop Grumman	Buckley King
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Government

Differences between administrative assistant/communications and administrative office assistant education

There are a few differences between an administrative assistant/communications and an administrative office assistant in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Assistant/Communications	Administrative Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Western Carolina University

Administrative assistant/communications vs administrative office assistant demographics

Here are the differences between administrative assistants/communications' and administrative office assistants' demographics:

	Administrative Assistant/Communications	Administrative Office Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%	Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative assistant/communications and administrative office assistant duties and responsibilities

Administrative assistant/communications example responsibilities.

Manage department's intranet through SharePoint.
Manage all employee payroll records/files and process all accounts payable/receivable.
Manage and coordinate complex internal and external meetings and/or events via videoconferencing, WebEx and teleconference calls.
Perform full-charge bookkeeping functions - accounts payable, account receivable, bank account reconciliation, payroll and payroll taxes.
Implement strategies that integrate IntraConnect with SharePoint intranet and collaboration.
Create executive PowerPoint presentations and develop campaigns for campus broadcasting system.

Administrative office assistant example responsibilities.

Develop and manage external financial relationships between clients and the IRS.
Manage the receptionist area, including greeting visitors and responding to telephone and in-person requests for information.
Establish and maintain effective communications and cohesive working relationships with company associates, telephone and walk-in customers, and site visitors.
Dust offices and clean windows and doors.
Update information in CATT database, as well as make appointments for therapists and psychiatrists in Sharepoint.
Create electronic filing system to alleviate paper copies and recruit fellow co-workers to get on board with SharePoint.

Administrative assistant/communications vs administrative office assistant skills

Common administrative assistant/communications skills

Data Entry, 8%
PowerPoint, 7%
Provides Administrative Support, 7%
Office Equipment, 4%
Expense Reports, 4%
Travel Arrangements, 4%

Common administrative office assistant skills

Customer Service, 14%
Data Entry, 13%
Phone Calls, 7%
Payroll, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%
Database Management, 4%

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Administrative Assistant/Communications
Administrative Assistant/Communications vs Administrative Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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