Administrative professional vs office secretary

The differences between administrative professionals and office secretaries 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 office secretary. Additionally, an administrative professional has an average salary of $39,486, which is higher than the $33,118 average annual salary of an office secretary.

The top three skills for an administrative professional include customer service, powerpoint and data entry. The most important skills for an office secretary are data entry, phone calls, and telephone calls.

Administrative professional vs office secretary overview

	Administrative Professional	Office Secretary
Yearly salary	$39,486	$33,118
Hourly rate	$18.98	$15.92
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	87,372	87,771
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
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 office secretary do?

An office secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to ensure the smooth flow of operations and prevent delays with project deliverables. Office secretaries also welcome guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate department or personnel for their appointments. They schedule meetings, sort documents, handle incoming and outgoing mail, as well as manage inventories for the adequacy of office supplies. An office secretary must have excellent time-management and multitasking skills to conduct tasks within a strict deadline and minimal supervision.

Administrative professional vs office secretary salary

Administrative professionals and office secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Professional	Office Secretary
Average salary	$39,486	$33,118
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $65,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Hawaii
Best paying company	HomeOwners Advantage	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	-	Telecommunication

Differences between administrative professional and office secretary education

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

	Administrative Professional	Office Secretary
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Administrative professional vs office secretary demographics

Here are the differences between administrative professionals' and office secretaries' demographics:

	Administrative Professional	Office Secretary
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%	Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3%
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, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative professional and office secretary 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.

Office secretary example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Research and keep updated on Medicare and Medicaid benefits, qualification requirements, and the legal and financial effects of options.
Determine client eligibility for Medicaid transportation.
Process and submit payroll information and invoices.
Maintain departmental inventory, purchasing/travel paperwork, and process payroll.
Answer customer phone calls-Record daily business transactions-Manage QuickBooks and bank accounts-Enter parts invoices and take inventory

Administrative professional vs office secretary skills

Common administrative professional skills

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

Common office secretary skills

Data Entry, 12%
Phone Calls, 11%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Scheduling Appointments, 7%
Office Procedures, 7%
Payroll, 6%

Administrative Professional vs. similar jobs

Administrative Professional related careers

Administrative Professional related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Administrative Professional
Administrative Professional vs Office Secretary

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs