Administrative support assistant vs administrative staff

The differences between administrative support assistants and administrative staff 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 support assistant and an administrative staff. Additionally, an administrative staff has an average salary of $77,101, which is higher than the $36,341 average annual salary of an administrative support assistant.

The top three skills for an administrative support assistant include customer service, provides administrative support and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative staff are telephone calls, word processing, and travel arrangements.

Administrative support assistant vs administrative staff overview

	Administrative Support Assistant	Administrative Staff
Yearly salary	$36,341	$77,101
Hourly rate	$17.47	$37.07
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	118,512	119,030
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an administrative support assistant do?

Administrative support assistants are individuals who provide support to employees and managers. They provide assistance in general functions in various administrative or academic units. Their primary duties involve the management and dissemination of information within an organization. They take memos, maintain files, and answer phone calls. They should develop skills in technology, written and verbal communication, independence, and organization. Excellent skills in problem-solving, time management, and attention to detail are also important.

What does an administrative staff do?

As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll. They plan department weekly meetings, schedule conference calls, and work on solving administrative related concerns and issues. They do a complex task that involves multi-tasking from the preparation of department reports, analyzing data, and finding solutions. It is a requirement to be an experienced, collaborator, and trained cross-functional communicator. Moreover, other duties will include scheduling company-initiated activities, meetings, and events.

Administrative support assistant vs administrative staff salary

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

	Administrative Support Assistant	Administrative Staff
Average salary	$36,341	$77,101
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $44,000	Between $58,000 And $101,000
Highest paying City	SeaTac, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	Government	Professional

Differences between administrative support assistant and administrative staff education

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

	Administrative Support Assistant	Administrative Staff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Administrative support assistant vs administrative staff demographics

Here are the differences between administrative support assistants' and administrative staff' demographics:

	Administrative Support Assistant	Administrative Staff
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 16.6% Female, 83.4%	Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between administrative support assistant and administrative staff duties and responsibilities

Administrative support assistant example responsibilities.

Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
Coordinate highly confidential and sensitive material relate to employee relations, payroll and personnel actions.
Complete diverse administrative tasks accurately and efficiently including verification of insurance information, payroll administration, and coordination of department meetings.
Create PowerPoint's of upcoming activities/events to distribute to departments/teams.
Interview patients and determine primary need of interest by providing assistance to other responsible personnel.
Maintain a database with confidential information regarding patients and providing medication for the HIV/AIDS section.

Administrative staff example responsibilities.

Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations for management distribution.
Maintain payroll information by collect, calculate and enter data.
Prepare briefing slides and presentation material using PowerPoint and Visio.
Maintain accounting statements, databases, and other financial information such as payroll coding and budget preparation
Provide cloud base customer relationship management with Salesforce for optimization in coordination of the workforce development program and other community orient events

Administrative support assistant vs administrative staff skills

Common administrative support assistant skills

Customer Service, 15%
Provides Administrative Support, 6%
Data Entry, 6%
Patients, 5%
Travel Arrangements, 4%
Phone Calls, 4%

Common administrative staff skills

Telephone Calls, 19%
Word Processing, 16%
Travel Arrangements, 7%
Payroll, 6%
Personnel Actions, 6%
Financial Reports, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Administrative Support Assistant
Administrative Support Assistant vs Administrative Staff

Updated January 8, 2025

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