Administrative project assistant vs contract administrative assistant

The differences between administrative project assistants 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 project assistant and a contract administrative assistant. Additionally, an administrative project assistant has an average salary of $41,668, which is higher than the $39,073 average annual salary of a contract administrative assistant.

The top three skills for an administrative project assistant include customer service, data entry and powerpoint. The most important skills for a contract administrative assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and powerpoint.

Administrative project assistant vs contract administrative assistant overview

	Administrative Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$41,668	$39,073
Hourly rate	$20.03	$18.79
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	58,448	64,677
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative project assistant do?

An administrative project assistant is responsible for supporting the project management operations according to business requirements and client specifications. Administrative project assistants perform administrative duties, such as conducting market research, writing progress reports, updating tracking systems, sorting project documents, and scheduling meetings. They also maintain accurate records of financial transactions, managing the stock inventories, and escalating concerns that would affect the output deliveries. An administrative project assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on data management processes and performing duties under minimal supervision and strict deadlines.

What does a contract administrative assistant do?

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 project assistant vs contract administrative assistant salary

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

	Administrative Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$41,668	$39,073
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $55,000	Between $31,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Jacobs Engineering Group	Minnesota State Fair
Best paying industry	Construction	Pharmaceutical

Differences between administrative project assistant and contract administrative assistant education

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

	Administrative Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative project assistant vs contract administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between administrative project assistants' and contract administrative assistants' demographics:

	Administrative Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 10.3% Female, 89.7%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
Race ratio	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%	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%

Differences between administrative project assistant and contract administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Administrative project assistant example responsibilities.

Manage quality assurance checks for FDA and internal audits which result in no documentation/information error and successful completion of the audits.
Create and maintain project-related SharePoint sites and pages, including updating graphics, uploading resource documents and adding new users.
Prepare presentation materials for meetings, utilizing Microsoft PowerPoint.
Develop creative PowerPoint presentations for company to be present for conferences/conventions.
Eliminate potential errors by establishing an alternate payroll template and process.
Coordinate certified payroll, credit card reconciliation, and travel expense reimbursements.

Contract administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and develop the daily clinical schedule for the in-patient rehabilitation staff taking into consideration Medicare guidelines and staffing ratios.
Orchestrate and design all RFP and RFQ proposals.
Issue RFQ's for subcontracts, evaluate proposals, award contracts and oversee through closeout.
Streamline staff scheduling through team management software (SharePoint) by coordinating schedules, meetings, and travel arrangements.
Transfer payroll and accounting paperwork to electronic form and index for future reference.
Assist in the creation and distribution of PowerPoint presentations for company executives and outside affiliates.

Administrative project assistant vs contract administrative assistant skills

Common administrative project assistant skills

Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 10%
PowerPoint, 8%
Project Management, 5%
Meeting Minutes, 4%
Office Equipment, 4%

Common contract administrative assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Purchase Orders, 9%
PowerPoint, 9%
Expense Reports, 5%
SharePoint, 4%
Financial Reports, 4%

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Administrative Project Assistant
Administrative Project Assistant vs Contract Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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