Administrative specialist vs administrative assistant

The differences between administrative specialists 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 specialist and an administrative assistant. Additionally, an administrative specialist has an average salary of $38,758, which is higher than the $34,945 average annual salary of an administrative assistant.

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

Administrative specialist vs administrative assistant overview

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$38,758	$34,945
Hourly rate	$18.63	$16.80
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	71,227	65,769
Job satisfaction	-	4.14
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative specialist do?

An administrative specialist is in charge of various clerical tasks to support supervisors and management staff. Their responsibility is to act as the main point of contact among clients through answering calls and responding to inquiries, managing schedules, arranging appointments and travel, addressing complaints and resolving internal issues, managing payroll, and keeping an organized database. Furthermore, an administrative specialist can also conduct research and analysis, prepare reports and other forms of documentation, and coordinate workflow in a particular area.

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 specialist vs administrative assistant salary

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$38,758	$34,945
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $58,000	Between $26,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Westfield State University
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between administrative specialist and administrative assistant education

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative specialist vs administrative assistant demographics

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%
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, 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 specialist and administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Administrative specialist example responsibilities.

Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Process incoming and outgoing medical records with newly implement HIPAA requirements.
Maintain personnel records, electronic databases, oversee and administer department SharePoint website.
Redesign and reformat PowerPoint presentations, customize individual client presentations for specific look & feel.
Create and successfully implement a new faculty form to collect necessary information for payroll forms.
Conduct training of new personnel using spreadsheets & PowerPoint presentations to ensure compliance of organizational policies & procedures.

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 specialist vs administrative assistant skills

Common administrative specialist skills

Customer Service, 14%
Data Entry, 6%
PowerPoint, 6%
Office Procedures, 5%
Patients, 5%
Payroll, 4%

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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Administrative Specialist vs Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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