Administrative specialist vs administrative associate

The differences between administrative specialists and administrative associates 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 associate. Additionally, an administrative specialist has an average salary of $38,758, which is higher than the $34,873 average annual salary of an administrative associate.

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

Administrative specialist vs administrative associate overview

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Associate
Yearly salary	$38,758	$34,873
Hourly rate	$18.63	$16.77
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	71,227	54,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
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 associate do?

An administrative associate is responsible for performing various tasks such as handling and processing paperwork, attending meetings and preparing minutes, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, keeping accurate records, updating databases, and monitoring the company's financial activities. They also communicate with various department personnel, ensuring coordination should any important matter would arise. Furthermore, as an administrative associate, they are in charge of procuring supplies, implementing company policies, and supporting any staff members if needed.

Administrative specialist vs administrative associate salary

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Associate
Average salary	$38,758	$34,873
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $58,000	Between $23,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Meta	Lord Abbett
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between administrative specialist and administrative associate education

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative specialist vs administrative associate demographics

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

	Administrative Specialist	Administrative Associate
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 21.6% Female, 78.4%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative specialist and administrative associate 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 associate example responsibilities.

Manage consultants' calendar, arrange travel, paid bills via QuickBooks software.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Enter invoices in QuickBooks and P2P.
Fulfill medical record requests from patients, providers and insurance companies in a HIPAA compliant way.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations and address day to day general operations and office procedures.
Prepare PowerPoint & other digital media for presentations that are distributed to upper management.

Administrative specialist vs administrative associate skills

Common administrative specialist skills

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

Common administrative associate skills

Administrative Tasks, 12%
Purchase Orders, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Telephone Calls, 9%
Travel Arrangements, 9%
Patients, 8%

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Administrative Specialist
Administrative Specialist vs Administrative Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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