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The differences between administrative officers 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 officer and a contract administrative assistant. Additionally, an administrative officer has an average salary of $64,338, which is higher than the $39,073 average annual salary of a contract administrative assistant.
The top three skills for an administrative officer include veterans, human resources and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a contract administrative assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and powerpoint.
| Administrative Officer | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $64,338 | $39,073 |
| Hourly rate | $30.93 | $18.79 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 98,238 | 64,677 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An administrative officer is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the company's operations and maintain efficient production. Administrative officers should have excellent office management principles, handling various tasks under minimal supervision and strict deadline. They must be detail-oriented, especially on data processing systems, to encode information and update the company's documents. An administrative officer should be highly-communicative to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns, negotiate with suppliers and third-party vendors, scheduling meetings, and creating business transaction reports.
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 officers and contract administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Officer | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Average salary | $64,338 | $39,073 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $103,000 | Between $31,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | UBS | Minnesota State Fair |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between an administrative officer and a contract administrative assistant in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Officer | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between administrative officers' and contract administrative assistants' demographics:
| Administrative Officer | Contract Administrative Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% | Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% 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% |