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The differences between administrative office assistants and contract administrative assistants 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 office assistant and a contract administrative assistant. Additionally, a contract administrative assistant has an average salary of $39,073, which is higher than the $33,318 average annual salary of an administrative office assistant.
The top three skills for an administrative office assistant include customer service, data entry and phone calls. The most important skills for a contract administrative assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and powerpoint.
| Administrative Office Assistant | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $33,318 | $39,073 |
| Hourly rate | $16.02 | $18.79 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 81,528 | 64,677 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An administrative office assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to assist in daily management operations. These duties include taking calls and responding to client and customers' inquiries and concerns, scheduling meetings and conferences, organizing files and submitting required documents, sorting invoices for release, processing travel arrangements, receiving emails, forwarding reports to the appropriate department, and coordinating with company's events. An administrative assistant must be detail-oriented, as well as having excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties even under minimal supervision.
A contract administrative assistant works on a contractual basis at offices where they are in charge of performing support tasks. Among their responsibilities include answering calls and correspondence, filing and organizing documents, coordinating with different departments, arranging appointments and schedules, preparing and processing files, and running errands as needed. They may also monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, a contract administrative assistant must maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.
Administrative office assistants and contract administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Office Assistant | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Average salary | $33,318 | $39,073 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $43,000 | Between $31,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Buckley King | Minnesota State Fair |
| Best paying industry | Government | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between an administrative office assistant and a contract administrative assistant in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Office Assistant | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between administrative office assistants' and contract administrative assistants' demographics:
| Administrative Office Assistant | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% | Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |