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The differences between administrative assistants/personal assistants and administrative staff 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/personal assistant and an administrative staff. Additionally, an administrative staff has an average salary of $77,101, which is higher than the $40,751 average annual salary of an administrative assistant/personal assistant.
The top three skills for an administrative assistant/personal assistant include payroll, scheduling appointments and financial statements. The most important skills for an administrative staff are telephone calls, word processing, and travel arrangements.
| Administrative Assistant/Personal Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Yearly salary | $40,751 | $77,101 |
| Hourly rate | $19.59 | $37.07 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 70,276 | 119,030 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An Administrative Assistant/Personal Assistant performs daily and time management tasks, meeting schedules, note-taking, and correspondence. Administrative Assistants answer and direct phone calls to the appropriate staff. They are in charge of ordering and purchasing office supply stocks. Their duties and responsibilities depend on the company and the industry they are working for. They serve as the point of contact for external stakeholders and staff. They must develop professionalism, inventory control, and administrative writing skills.
As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll. They plan department weekly meetings, schedule conference calls, and work on solving administrative related concerns and issues. They do a complex task that involves multi-tasking from the preparation of department reports, analyzing data, and finding solutions. It is a requirement to be an experienced, collaborator, and trained cross-functional communicator. Moreover, other duties will include scheduling company-initiated activities, meetings, and events.
Administrative assistants/personal assistants and administrative staff have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Assistant/Personal Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Average salary | $40,751 | $77,101 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $54,000 | Between $58,000 And $101,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an administrative assistant/personal assistant and an administrative staff in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Assistant/Personal Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between administrative assistants/personal assistants' and administrative staff' demographics:
| Administrative Assistant/Personal Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9% | Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |