Administrative associate vs administrative professional

The differences between administrative associates and administrative professionals 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 associate and an administrative professional. Additionally, an administrative professional has an average salary of $39,486, which is higher than the $34,873 average annual salary of an administrative associate.

The top three skills for an administrative associate include administrative tasks, purchase orders and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative professional are customer service, powerpoint, and data entry.

Administrative associate vs administrative professional overview

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Professional
Yearly salary	$34,873	$39,486
Hourly rate	$16.77	$18.98
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	54,499	87,372
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative associate do?

An administrative associate is responsible for performing various tasks such as handling and processing paperwork, attending meetings and preparing minutes, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, keeping accurate records, updating databases, and monitoring the company's financial activities. They also communicate with various department personnel, ensuring coordination should any important matter would arise. Furthermore, as an administrative associate, they are in charge of procuring supplies, implementing company policies, and supporting any staff members if needed.

What does an administrative professional do?

An administrative professional specializes in performing administrative support and clerical tasks in a company or office, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around managing schedules, arranging appointments and meetings, producing progress reports and presentations, delegating tasks, and attending meetings on behalf of executives or staff. There are also instances when an administrative assistant must answer calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries and concerns, welcome guests, relay messages, and provide staff with any support tasks or documents.

Administrative associate vs administrative professional salary

Administrative associates and administrative professionals have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Professional
Average salary	$34,873	$39,486
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $51,000	Between $23,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Lord Abbett	HomeOwners Advantage
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between administrative associate and administrative professional education

There are a few differences between an administrative associate and an administrative professional in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Professional
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative associate vs administrative professional demographics

Here are the differences between administrative associates' and administrative professionals' demographics:

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Professional
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 21.6% Female, 78.4%	Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative associate and administrative professional duties and responsibilities

Administrative associate example responsibilities.

Manage consultants' calendar, arrange travel, paid bills via QuickBooks software.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Enter invoices in QuickBooks and P2P.
Fulfill medical record requests from patients, providers and insurance companies in a HIPAA compliant way.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations and address day to day general operations and office procedures.
Prepare PowerPoint & other digital media for presentations that are distributed to upper management.

Administrative professional example responsibilities.

Manage documentation, folder structures and user permissions in SharePoint.
Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Keep vendors accounts up to date, process payroll, collect on accounts receivable, keep accounts payable up to date.
Create document libraries for several hospital initiatives in SharePoint.
Receive and distribute payroll garnishment/bankruptcy notification letters to employees.
Develop and maintain relevant organizational charts, facilitating retrieval of staff data in PowerPoint format.

Administrative associate vs administrative professional skills

Common administrative associate skills

Administrative Tasks, 12%
Purchase Orders, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Telephone Calls, 9%
Travel Arrangements, 9%
Patients, 8%

Common administrative professional skills

Customer Service, 16%
PowerPoint, 12%
Data Entry, 11%
Travel Arrangements, 7%
Administrative Tasks, 3%
Office Equipment, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Administrative Associate
Administrative Associate vs Administrative Professional

Updated January 8, 2025

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