Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between administrative assistants/communications and executive assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an administrative assistant/communications, becoming an executive assistant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive assistant has an average salary of $50,539, which is higher than the $35,363 average annual salary of an administrative assistant/communications.
The top three skills for an administrative assistant/communications include data entry, powerpoint and provides administrative support. The most important skills for an executive assistant are powerpoint, customer service, and phone calls.
| Administrative Assistant/Communications | Executive Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,363 | $50,539 |
| Hourly rate | $17.00 | $24.30 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 63,399 | 93,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
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.
Executive assistants are employees who are assigned to work under the supervision of company executives. They manage the activities of the executives they are assigned to by manning the executive's calendar, scheduling appointments, setting meetings, ensuring that the executives are familiar with their schedule for the day, and taking note of any deliverable that may be needed. They are also responsible for taking care of any document or paperwork that the executive needs, as well as preparing presentation materials or briefers for meetings. Executive assistants are also usually exposed to actual company operations to further understand how the business works and to be of better help to the executive.
Administrative assistants/communications and executive assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Assistant/Communications | Executive Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,363 | $50,539 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $44,000 | Between $35,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | Northrop Grumman | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Finance |
There are a few differences between an administrative assistant/communications and an executive assistant in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Assistant/Communications | Executive Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between administrative assistants/communications' and executive assistants' demographics:
| Administrative Assistant/Communications | Executive Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6% | Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9% |
| 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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |