What does an administrative assistant/technical do?

An administrative assistant/technical is primarily responsible for performing clerical and support tasks in a company, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. They must produce progress reports, process documentation, receive communication letters, manage schedules, and even greet visitors. There are also instances when an administrative assistant/technical has to answer calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, address issues and concerns, and resolve them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions, coordinate with different departments, and adhere to the company's policies and regulations.
Administrative assistant/technical responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real administrative assistant/technical resumes:
- Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
- Perform numerous hardware/software installations, configuration/maintenance of windows OS systems and perpetual hardware.
- Develop innovative PowerPoint presentation covers used by the cost engineers to market company services to clients.
- Process patients upon arrival for schedule appointments, responsible for obtaining patients referral information and processing information into computer.
- Implement a solution for staffing restructure that reduce overall salary expense while maintaining productivity for a rehabilitation inpatient nursing unit.
- Schedule appointments to perform HUD require interviews making sure contractors/sub-contractors follow lead-safe rules and regulations.
Administrative assistant/technical skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Administrative Assistant/Technicals are proficient in Patients, Data Entry, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Administrative Assistant/Technicals that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 11%
Processed patients upon arrival for scheduled appointments, responsible for obtaining patients referral information and processing information into computer.
- Data Entry, 8%
Managed data entry for water-efficiency stakeholder database and arranged seminars for the Branch, prepared travel authorizations and vouchers.
- PowerPoint, 8%
Provided technical and administrative support for the Subsurface Engineering Group including PowerPoint presentations, expense reports and arranging meetings.
- Travel Arrangements, 5%
Managed travel arrangements, inventory of supplies, office equipment maintenance and prepared/posted to company Intranet Weekly Team Activity Reports.
- Access Database, 5%
Maintained Microsoft Access database for federal final performance report.
- Purchase Orders, 4%
Identified budget/expenditure variances by conducting PeopleSoft query functions and researching vendor contracts to solve invoice/purchase order discrepancies.
"patients," "data entry," and "powerpoint" are among the most common skills that administrative assistant/technicals use at work. You can find even more administrative assistant/technical responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for an administrative assistant/technical to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what administrative assistant/technicals do because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, an administrative assistant/technical resume shows how administrative assistant/technicals use interpersonal skills: "learned general concepts of recruiting, office management, and interpersonal interaction. "
Organizational skills. Many administrative assistant/technical duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so an administrative assistant/technical will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways administrative assistant/technical responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "assisted with preparing and distributing weekly organizational chart to hr and hiring managers. "
Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of administrative assistant/technicals is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday administrative assistant/technical duties, as "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assist in the writing and implementing of all new office procedures, within the company. "
The three companies that hire the most administrative assistant/technicals are:
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Administrative assistant/technical vs. Project assistant
A project assistant's role mainly revolves around assisting a project manager. The responsibilities may vary upon the industry or organization. Still, most of them will be administrative tasks such as preparing reports and documentation, responding to calls and other forms of correspondence, and coordinating with various offices and personnel. Furthermore, a Project Assistant must also ensure the department's efficient workflow, proper utilization of budget, review documentation and schedules, attend meetings, and maintain an information database.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an administrative assistant/technical are more likely to require skills like "patients," "access database," "scheduling appointments," and "calendar management." On the other hand, a job as a project assistant requires skills like "customer service," "project management," "data collection," and "general contractors." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Project assistants earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $49,238. On the other hand, administrative assistant/technicals are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $42,925.The education levels that project assistants earn slightly differ from administrative assistant/technicals. In particular, project assistants are 8.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an administrative assistant/technical. Additionally, they're 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative assistant/technical vs. Team assistant
A team assistant is an employee who is responsible for performing administrative duties to help members of the office team focus on their assigned projects. Under the direct supervision of team leaders, team assistants are required to schedule appointments with clients, organize internal team meetings, and alert team members of upcoming deadlines. They keep track of project expenses and purchase receipts and input those numbers into an accounting software program or spreadsheet. Team assistants must also order supplies and products when inventories are low.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, administrative assistant/technical responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "access database," "purchase orders," "word processing," and "financial reports." Meanwhile, a team assistant has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "cleanliness," "home health," and "applied behavior analysis." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, team assistants earn a lower salary than administrative assistant/technicals. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, team assistants earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $56,346. Whereas administrative assistant/technicals have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $42,925.In general, team assistants achieve similar levels of education than administrative assistant/technicals. They're 2.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative assistant/technical vs. Office assistant
Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an administrative assistant/technical is likely to be skilled in "access database," "purchase orders," "provides administrative support," and "financial reports," while a typical office assistant is skilled in "customer service," "direct calls," "office support," and "office machines."
Office assistants earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $33,817. Comparatively, administrative assistant/technicals have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $42,925.office assistants typically earn similar educational levels compared to administrative assistant/technicals. Specifically, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative assistant/technical vs. Technical assistant
A technical assistant is responsible for supporting business operations by doing administrative and technical tasks under a direct supervisor or tenured staff. Duties of a technical assistant include creating meeting reports, scheduling events, responding to clients' inquiries through email and phone calls, monitoring office inventories, basic troubleshooting on defective equipment, providing recommendations on product development, and analyzing operations processes. Technical assistants require strong time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform tasks in a fast-paced environment and high-level operations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between administrative assistant/technicals and technical assistants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an administrative assistant/technical might have more use for skills like "data entry," "access database," "purchase orders," and "payroll." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of technical assistants require skills like "customer service," "lab equipment," "phlebotomy," and "surgical procedures. "
Technical assistants enjoy the best pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $36,918. For comparison, administrative assistant/technicals earn the highest salary in the manufacturing industry.technical assistants reach similar levels of education compared to administrative assistant/technicals, in general. The difference is that they're 2.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of administrative assistant/technical
Updated January 8, 2025











