Associate administrative assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant

The differences between associate administrative assistants and clerical/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 associate administrative assistant and a clerical/administrative assistant. Additionally, an associate administrative assistant has an average salary of $46,939, which is higher than the $30,983 average annual salary of a clerical/administrative assistant.

The top three skills for an associate administrative assistant include customer service, data entry and powerpoint. The most important skills for a clerical/administrative assistant are data entry, word processing, and payroll.

Associate administrative assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant overview

	Associate Administrative Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$46,939	$30,983
Hourly rate	$22.57	$14.90
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	57,908	56,261
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does an associate administrative assistant do?

An associate administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the business operations, ensuring the timely submission of deliverables. Associate administrative assistants work closely with the financial department, especially on organizing financial reports, issuing invoices, verifying time sheets for payroll purposes, and releasing petty cash. They also manage meeting and conference schedules, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for inventories, and sort documents for reference. An associate administrative assistant must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the knowledge of the data processing procedures to update information and track business transactions within the database.

What does a clerical/administrative assistant do?

An administrative assistant, also known as a secretary or office clerk, is someone who carries out daily clerical and administrative tasks. Admin assistants do a variety of tasks such as answering phone calls, organizing files, maintaining contacts, schedule meetings and appointments, and many more. Their task can be extensive, depending on the needs of operations and higher management. They serve as a gatekeeper of the company, so strong verbal and written communication skills are a must. They should also exhibit great organizational skills and time management since they act as the resource of the company.

Associate administrative assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant salary

Associate administrative assistants and clerical/administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Administrative Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$46,939	$30,983
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $77,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Beverly, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Washington
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	University of California
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between associate administrative assistant and clerical/administrative assistant education

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

	Associate Administrative Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Associate administrative assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between associate administrative assistants' and clerical/administrative assistants' demographics:

	Associate Administrative Assistant	Clerical/Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 14.5% Female, 85.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.1% 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, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between associate administrative assistant and clerical/administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Associate administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Direct correspondence and communications, monitoring emails and phone calls and managing social media and online presence on Facebook and website.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Reconcile credit card purchases and identify and resolve all payroll discrepancies.
Post photos of available properties on company's Facebook page.
Prepare spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and documentation.
Create spreadsheet to calculate payroll information collect from audit to determine findings.

Clerical/administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Work with QuickBooks to manage store invoices and accounts.
Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Check patients in and out, EMR, collect co-pays, answer phones, and take patients to exam rooms.
Assist with preparing and printing of exhibits, spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides as needed.
Maintain payroll and expense information.

Associate administrative assistant vs clerical/administrative assistant skills

Common associate administrative assistant skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
PowerPoint, 7%
Financial Reports, 5%
Payroll, 5%
Travel Arrangements, 5%

Common clerical/administrative assistant skills

Data Entry, 31%
Word Processing, 18%
Payroll, 14%
Customer Service, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 4%
Clerical Support, 3%

Associate Administrative Assistant vs. similar jobs

Associate Administrative Assistant related careers

Associate Administrative Assistant related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Associate Administrative Assistant
Associate Administrative Assistant vs Clerical/Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs