Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between administrative support specialists and administrative aides 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 specialist and an administrative aide. Additionally, an administrative aide has an average salary of $38,714, which is higher than the $38,244 average annual salary of an administrative support specialist.
The top three skills for an administrative support specialist include customer service, data entry and patients. The most important skills for an administrative aide are customer service, word processing, and proofreading.
| Administrative Support Specialist | Administrative Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $38,244 | $38,714 |
| Hourly rate | $18.39 | $18.61 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 139,654 | 96,883 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.
An administrative aide performs daily administrative support tasks in an office, helping to keep the workflow smooth and efficient. Their duties typically include organizing and disseminating documents, answering calls and correspondence, forwarding messages, greeting visitors and answering inquiries, and preparing and processing files. They may also participate in monitoring the inventory of office supplies, handling procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, an administrative aide may also serve as the record-keeper of the office, updating databases in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.
Administrative support specialists and administrative aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Administrative Support Specialist | Administrative Aide | |
| Average salary | $38,244 | $38,714 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $49,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Windsor, CT |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | King County | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Government | Utilities |
There are a few differences between an administrative support specialist and an administrative aide in terms of educational background:
| Administrative Support Specialist | Administrative Aide | |
| 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 |
Here are the differences between administrative support specialists' and administrative aides' demographics:
| Administrative Support Specialist | Administrative Aide | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.5% Female, 79.5% | Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |