Administrative officer vs executive assistant

The differences between administrative officers and executive assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an administrative officer, becoming an executive assistant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an administrative officer has an average salary of $64,338, which is higher than the $50,539 average annual salary of an executive assistant.

The top three skills for an administrative officer include veterans, human resources and rehabilitation. The most important skills for an executive assistant are powerpoint, customer service, and phone calls.

Administrative officer vs executive assistant overview

	Administrative Officer	Executive Assistant
Yearly salary	$64,338	$50,539
Hourly rate	$30.93	$24.30
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	98,238	93,116
Job satisfaction	-	4.4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	50	49
Years of experience	2	4

What does an administrative officer do?

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.

What does an executive assistant do?

Executive assistants are employees who are assigned to work under the supervision of company executives. They manage the activities of the executives they are assigned to by manning the executive's calendar, scheduling appointments, setting meetings, ensuring that the executives are familiar with their schedule for the day, and taking note of any deliverable that may be needed. They are also responsible for taking care of any document or paperwork that the executive needs, as well as preparing presentation materials or briefers for meetings. Executive assistants are also usually exposed to actual company operations to further understand how the business works and to be of better help to the executive.

Administrative officer vs executive assistant salary

Administrative officers and executive assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Officer	Executive Assistant
Average salary	$64,338	$50,539
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $103,000	Between $35,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	New York
Best paying company	UBS	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between administrative officer and executive assistant education

There are a few differences between an administrative officer and an executive assistant in terms of educational background:

	Administrative Officer	Executive Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative officer vs executive assistant demographics

Here are the differences between administrative officers' and executive assistants' demographics:

	Administrative Officer	Executive Assistant
Average age	50	49
Gender ratio	Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	6%	10%

Differences between administrative officer and executive assistant duties and responsibilities

Administrative officer example responsibilities.

Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Assist veterans during registration and authentication processes.
Develop agendas and PowerPoint presentations for c-level executives.
Interview patients before surgery/examinations and inform patients of necessary requirements before procedures.
Schedule appointments and meetings and oversee all travel logistics for senior management.
Communicate with outside vendors for probationer's drug rehabilitation, domestic violence, and education.

Executive assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain AVP calendar and schedule using independent judgment.
Manage and review WinStar (KRONOS) time clock hours for hourly union employees.
Organize and manage administrative, audio/visual (WebEx, GoToMeeting), and catering of department meetings.
Manage the scope of accounting processes including billing, bookkeeping and expense data management with strong oversight of A/R and A/P.
Create and manage executive presentations using Visio and PowerPoint.
Compile, manage and organize travel and expense reports processing and submitting reports using PeopleSoft for reimbursement.

Administrative officer vs executive assistant skills

Common administrative officer skills

Veterans, 9%
Human Resources, 9%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Personnel Actions, 5%
Financial Management, 5%
Patients, 5%

Common executive assistant skills

PowerPoint, 13%
Customer Service, 8%
Phone Calls, 6%
Calendar Management, 6%
Administrative Tasks, 3%
Financial Reports, 3%

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Administrative Officer
Administrative Officer vs Executive Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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