Administrative professional vs administrative assistant

The differences between administrative professionals and 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 professional and an administrative assistant. Additionally, an administrative professional has an average salary of $39,486, which is higher than the $34,945 average annual salary of an administrative assistant.

The top three skills for an administrative professional include customer service, powerpoint and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative assistant are customer service, data entry, and powerpoint.

Administrative professional vs administrative assistant overview

	Administrative Professional	Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$39,486	$34,945
Hourly rate	$18.98	$16.80
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	87,372	65,769
Job satisfaction	-	4.14
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative professional do?

An administrative professional specializes in performing administrative support and clerical tasks in a company or office, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around managing schedules, arranging appointments and meetings, producing progress reports and presentations, delegating tasks, and attending meetings on behalf of executives or staff. There are also instances when an administrative assistant must answer calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries and concerns, welcome guests, relay messages, and provide staff with any support tasks or documents.

What does an administrative assistant do?

Administrative assistants, or admin assistants, do general clerical and administrative activities. Their duties involve organizing and maintaining files and records, preparing documents, scheduling meetings and appointments, and providing general support in the office. Administrative assistants handle incoming and outgoing official correspondences, take minutes of important meetings and manage calls to the main office number. They also assist executives in providing structure to their day by managing their schedule, drafting e-mails, and other activities that executives may need assistance in. Administrative assistants should have the following skills: organizing, business writing, decision-making, and communication.

Administrative professional vs administrative assistant salary

Administrative professionals and administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Professional	Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$39,486	$34,945
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $65,000	Between $26,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	HomeOwners Advantage	Westfield State University
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between administrative professional and administrative assistant education

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

	Administrative Professional	Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative professional vs administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between administrative professionals' and administrative assistants' demographics:

	Administrative Professional	Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative professional and administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Administrative professional example responsibilities.

Manage documentation, folder structures and user permissions in SharePoint.
Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Keep vendors accounts up to date, process payroll, collect on accounts receivable, keep accounts payable up to date.
Create document libraries for several hospital initiatives in SharePoint.
Receive and distribute payroll garnishment/bankruptcy notification letters to employees.
Develop and maintain relevant organizational charts, facilitating retrieval of staff data in PowerPoint format.

Administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Manage time and attendance using Kronos software for entire department.
Participate in national projects, manage new customer conversions to MCI from other carriers.
Manage FEDEX delivery requirements ensuring compliance with company policy.
Manage and update social media outlets including Facebook and LinkedIn.
Manage company finances using QuickBooks software, including monitoring the operating budget and collecting on unpaid invoices.
Manage and develop the daily clinical schedule for the in-patient rehabilitation staff taking into consideration Medicare guidelines and staffing ratios.

Administrative professional vs administrative assistant skills

Common administrative professional skills

Customer Service, 16%
PowerPoint, 12%
Data Entry, 11%
Travel Arrangements, 7%
Administrative Tasks, 3%
Office Equipment, 3%

Common administrative assistant skills

Customer Service, 14%
Data Entry, 11%
PowerPoint, 6%
Travel Arrangements, 5%
Database Management, 5%
Word Processing, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Administrative Professional
Administrative Professional vs Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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