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The differences between administrative office assistants and general office 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 general office assistant. Additionally, an administrative office assistant has an average salary of $33,318, which is higher than the $30,764 average annual salary of a general 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 general office assistant are data entry, customer service, and general office assistance.
| Administrative Office Assistant | General Office Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $33,318 | $30,764 |
| Hourly rate | $16.02 | $14.79 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 81,528 | 131,527 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| 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 general office assistant is in charge of performing clerical support tasks to help an office run smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities include managing the office calendar and schedules, preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, organizing and disseminating files, greeting visitors, and running errands as needed. They must also monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests as necessary. Furthermore, a general office assistant may assist staff in projects and programs while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Administrative office assistants and general office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Office Assistant | General Office Assistant | |
| Average salary | $33,318 | $30,764 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $43,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Annapolis, MD |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Buckley King | Cargill |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between an administrative office assistant and a general office assistant in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Office Assistant | General Office Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between administrative office assistants' and general office assistants' demographics:
| Administrative Office Assistant | General Office Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% | Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2% |
| 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, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 9.1% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |