Administrative associate vs administrative support specialist

The differences between administrative associates and administrative support specialists 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 support specialist. Additionally, an administrative support specialist has an average salary of $38,244, 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 support specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Administrative associate vs administrative support specialist overview

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Support Specialist
Yearly salary	$34,873	$38,244
Hourly rate	$16.77	$18.39
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	54,499	139,654
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
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 support specialist do?

An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.

Administrative associate vs administrative support specialist salary

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

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Support Specialist
Average salary	$34,873	$38,244
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $51,000	Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Lord Abbett	King County
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between administrative associate and administrative support specialist education

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

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Support Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative associate vs administrative support specialist demographics

Here are the differences between administrative associates' and administrative support specialists' demographics:

	Administrative Associate	Administrative Support Specialist
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 21.6% Female, 78.4%	Male, 20.5% Female, 79.5%
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, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative associate and administrative support specialist 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 support specialist example responsibilities.

Create PowerPoint presentations, manage spreadsheet information/graphs and provide reports as necessary.
Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Assist SharePoint intranet creation and documentation.
Generate PowerPoint presentations for meetings and training.
Maintain and post unit documents utilizing SharePoint.
Maintain files on all division civilian personnel, submit accurate payroll sheets for assign civilian personnel.

Administrative associate vs administrative support specialist skills

Common administrative associate skills

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

Common administrative support specialist skills

Customer Service, 16%
Data Entry, 8%
Patients, 6%
PowerPoint, 5%
Administrative Functions, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%

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Administrative Associate
Administrative Associate vs Administrative Support Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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