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The differences between administrative office assistants and office support 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 an office support assistant. Additionally, an office support assistant has an average salary of $33,548, 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 an office support assistant are customer service, data entry, and office equipment.
| Administrative Office Assistant | Office Support Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $33,318 | $33,548 |
| Hourly rate | $16.02 | $16.13 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 81,528 | 134,113 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| 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.
An office support assistant is in charge of performing clerical support tasks to keep offices running smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities typically include answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, organizing and disseminating files, and coordinating with different departments. There are also instances where they must attend meetings and take down information, greet visitors, and monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, they may assist the staff when it comes to programs and projects.
Administrative office assistants and office support assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Office Assistant | Office Support Assistant | |
| Average salary | $33,318 | $33,548 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $43,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | Buckley King | Sierra Pacific Industries |
| Best paying industry | Government | Transportation |
There are a few differences between an administrative office assistant and an office support assistant in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Office Assistant | Office Support Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between administrative office assistants' and office support assistants' demographics:
| Administrative Office Assistant | Office Support Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% | Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9% |
| 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, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |