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The differences between business assistants and administrative office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a business assistant and an administrative office assistant. Additionally, a business assistant has an average salary of $42,247, which is higher than the $33,318 average annual salary of an administrative office assistant.
The top three skills for a business assistant include customer service, patients and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative office assistant are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.
| Business Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $42,247 | $33,318 |
| Hourly rate | $20.31 | $16.02 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 98,348 | 81,528 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A business assistant is responsible for supporting various office functions, performing administrative and clerical duties to ensure efficient and smooth business operations, and provide high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Business assistants handle data processing procedures, writing business transaction reports, and coordinating with suppliers and third-party vendors for any requests made by the company. They welcome visitors, verify their appointments, and direct them to the appropriate personnel or department for their business concerns. A business assistant also schedules a meeting, assist in accounting and human resources tasks, and support the executives on corporate decisions.
An administrative office assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to assist in daily management operations. These duties include taking calls and responding to client and customers' inquiries and concerns, scheduling meetings and conferences, organizing files and submitting required documents, sorting invoices for release, processing travel arrangements, receiving emails, forwarding reports to the appropriate department, and coordinating with company's events. An administrative assistant must be detail-oriented, as well as having excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties even under minimal supervision.
Business assistants and administrative office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Average salary | $42,247 | $33,318 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $60,000 | Between $25,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Whitney Museum of American Art | Buckley King |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Government |
There are a few differences between a business assistant and an administrative office assistant in terms of educational background:
| Business Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between business assistants' and administrative office assistants' demographics:
| Business Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9% | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |