Administrative professional vs human resources administrative assistant

The differences between administrative professionals and human resources administrative 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 professional, becoming a human resources administrative assistant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an administrative professional has an average salary of $39,486, which is higher than the $37,044 average annual salary of a human resources administrative assistant.

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

Administrative professional vs human resources administrative assistant overview

	Administrative Professional	Human Resources Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$39,486	$37,044
Hourly rate	$18.98	$17.81
Growth rate	-8%	8%
Number of jobs	87,372	72,861
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	50	41
Years of experience	2	6

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 a human resources administrative assistant do?

A human resources administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative tasks such as gathering and processing necessary documentation, preparing timely reports and evaluations, arranging schedules, maintaining and monitoring record databases, and responding to inquiries. Aside from assisting human resource officers in their tasks, they can also lend a hand in screening and training new workforce members. Furthermore, because a human resources administrative assistant holds the employee database, they need to coordinate with other departments and employees to ensure that everyone receives what is needed.

Administrative professional vs human resources administrative assistant salary

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

	Administrative Professional	Human Resources Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$39,486	$37,044
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $65,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New Jersey
Best paying company	HomeOwners Advantage	Emory University
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between administrative professional and human resources administrative assistant education

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

	Administrative Professional	Human Resources Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Administrative professional vs human resources administrative assistant demographics

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

	Administrative Professional	Human Resources Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	41
Gender ratio	Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%	Male, 9.3% Female, 90.7%
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, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 7.7% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	9%

Differences between administrative professional and human resources 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.

Human resources administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Manage unemployment verification process and enter employee changes into PeopleSoft.
Labor hours, PTO, accident reports and training records are all track through data entry and issuance of reports.
Handle and make necessary changes to payroll processes/system daily by using KRONOS.
Enter and balance payroll, certify payroll and send ACH file to bank.
Assist with the instruction and training of new associates regarding KRONOS punches, attendance policies, and payroll incentive programs.
Submit employment of identification per e-verify.

Administrative professional vs human resources 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 human resources administrative assistant skills

Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 10%
Background Checks, 7%
PowerPoint, 5%
HRIS, 4%
Travel Arrangements, 4%

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Administrative Professional
Administrative Professional vs Human Resources Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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