Cargo agent vs sales administrator/administrative assistant

The differences between cargo agents and sales administrator/administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales administrator/administrative assistant has an average salary of $36,442, which is higher than the $35,411 average annual salary of a cargo agent.

The top three skills for a cargo agent include security procedures, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for a sales administrator/administrative assistant are reservations, word processing, and data entry.

Cargo agent vs sales administrator/administrative assistant overview

	Cargo Agent	Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$35,411	$36,442
Hourly rate	$17.02	$17.52
Growth rate	1%	-8%
Number of jobs	27,874	104,412
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	43	50
Years of experience	-	2

What does a cargo agent do?

A cargo agent is primarily in charge of facilitating cargo shipments, ensuring the cargo gets to their destination timely and accurately. They are responsible for preparing and processing the necessary documents and fees, routing shipments and arranging the shipping methods, weighing the parcels, and coordinating the logistics and transportation details. They also negotiate postal and shipping rates, prepare invoices, and maintain records of all transactions and necessary information. Moreover, a cargo agent communicates with clients to answer inquiries, notify them of any delays, and provide updates regularly.

What does a sales administrator/administrative assistant do?

A sales administrator/administrative assistant is responsible for assisting the sales department on its overall operations and strategies to sell goods and services that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. Sales administrator/administrative assistants perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as creating and evaluating sales reports, writing business proposals, scheduling meetings, booking events, and researching current market trends to identify business opportunities. They must have excellent customer service and communication skills, managing customers' inquiries and concerns, processing orders and payments, and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Cargo agent vs sales administrator/administrative assistant salary

Cargo agents and sales administrator/administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cargo Agent	Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$35,411	$36,442
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $45,000	Between $29,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	San Diego, CA	Santa Clara, CA
Highest paying state	California	Hawaii
Best paying company	United Service Technologies	Splunk
Best paying industry	Transportation	Technology

Differences between cargo agent and sales administrator/administrative assistant education

There are a few differences between a cargo agent and a sales administrator/administrative assistant in terms of educational background:

	Cargo Agent	Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Cargo agent vs sales administrator/administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between cargo agents' and sales administrator/administrative assistants' demographics:

	Cargo Agent	Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant
Average age	43	50
Gender ratio	Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4%	Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 27.5% Asian, 14.1% White, 44.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	6%

Differences between cargo agent and sales administrator/administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Cargo agent example responsibilities.

Manage and carry out specific program and regulatory activities such as enforcing hazmat and weight restrictions.
Maintain compliance issues relate to TSA, FAA, and cargo operations for several major airlines.
Handle various amounts of freight including both FTL, LTL, dry, refrigerate, flatb, and intermodal.
Practice safe conscious behaviors in all operational processes and procedures by adhering to strict TSA, IATA, and DCOM regulations.
Set up containers for USPS mail.
Handle accounts that require FDA clearance.

Sales administrator/administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Contribute to marketing business online and manage Facebook page.
Invoice customer on completion of project.
Perform regular audits on the CRM system for data and process integrity and routine database maintenance.
Create accounts, contacts, and opportunities resulting in the successful execution of customer contracts in Salesforce.
Process new applications for merchant banking services, cash advance funding, POS equipment leasing, and small business lending.
Prepare and sustain business reports; expense tracking, monthly accrual and invoice payment submission, procurement card reconciliation report maintenance.

Cargo agent vs sales administrator/administrative assistant skills

Common cargo agent skills

Security Procedures, 18%
Data Entry, 17%
Customer Service, 8%
Freight Shipments, 7%
Computer System, 7%
Air Freight, 4%

Common sales administrator/administrative assistant skills

Reservations, 12%
Word Processing, 8%
Data Entry, 7%
PowerPoint, 6%
Phone Calls, 5%
Payroll, 5%

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Cargo Agent
Cargo Agent vs Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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