Administrative specialist vs executive administrator

The differences between administrative specialists and executive administrators 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 specialist, becoming an executive administrator takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive administrator has an average salary of $52,855, which is higher than the $38,758 average annual salary of an administrative specialist.

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

Administrative specialist vs executive administrator overview

	Administrative Specialist	Executive Administrator
Yearly salary	$38,758	$52,855
Hourly rate	$18.63	$25.41
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	71,227	141,235
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	50	49
Years of experience	2	4

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 executive administrator do?

An executive administrator is responsible for assisting the senior management staff in planning strategies and analyzing business decisions to achieve the company's goals and objectives. Executive administrators schedule meetings and handle appointments, as well as helping with the implementation of training and programs for the employees to reach their maximum operational potential and increase productivity to meet projects' demands and ensure the highest customer satisfaction. They must have exceptional time-management and organizational skills, especially on performing administrative and clerical duties as needed, as well as excellent communication skills to respond to clients' inquiries, concerns, and requests.

Administrative specialist vs executive administrator salary

Administrative specialists and executive administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Administrative Specialist	Executive Administrator
Average salary	$38,758	$52,855
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $58,000	Between $35,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Meta	JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between administrative specialist and executive administrator education

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

	Administrative Specialist	Executive Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Administrative specialist vs executive administrator demographics

Here are the differences between administrative specialists' and executive administrators' demographics:

	Administrative Specialist	Executive Administrator
Average age	50	49
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2%
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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	6%	10%

Differences between administrative specialist and executive administrator 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.

Executive administrator example responsibilities.

Manage grant funding from NIH, HRSA, and private foundations.
Manage on-site nursing services deliver to patients; oversee billing and supervise on-site personnel.
Manage day-to-day human resource functions: maintain HRIS database, conduct new employee orientation, and benefits administration.
Manage 200 staff personnel (145 FTE's), consisting of 15 classifications, two unions and exempt personnel.
Develop twitter marketing landing pages, manage and maintain social marketing sites, blogs, and constant contact marketing efforts.
Achieve JCAHO accreditation for ambulatory care facilities.

Administrative specialist vs executive administrator skills

Common administrative specialist skills

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

Common executive administrator skills

PowerPoint, 10%
Customer Service, 9%
Expense Reports, 7%
Office Procedures, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Data Entry, 5%

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Administrative Specialist vs Executive Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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