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The differences between corporate secretaries and executive/personal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a corporate secretary, becoming an executive/personal assistant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a corporate secretary has an average salary of $88,550, which is higher than the $64,511 average annual salary of an executive/personal assistant.
The top three skills for a corporate secretary include corporate governance, proxy and meeting minutes. The most important skills for an executive/personal assistant are financial statements, powerpoint, and calendar management.
| Corporate Secretary | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $88,550 | $64,511 |
| Hourly rate | $42.57 | $31.01 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 16,480 | 110,560 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A Corporate Secretary works in promoting corporate governance and regulatory compliance. They make certain that the board of directors is equipped with the necessary tools and information in fulfilling their shareholder obligations. They ensure the integrity of an enterprise's governance framework. It is their responsibility to ensure the efficiency of business administration in compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements. Corporate Secretaries also implement the decisions of the board.
An executive/personal assistant is responsible for performing secretarial duties, including administrative and clerical tasks as needed, helping the business operations run smoothly and efficiently. Executive/personal assistants receive and respond to client's calls and inquiries, schedule and maintain an organized record of executive and staff meetings, sorting files and documents, and attending general meetings on behalf of the executives. They should also have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, especially on providing recommendations for business decisions and profitable opportunities. An executive/personal assistant creates expense reports, monitors the adequacy of stock inventory, and coordinates with planning company events.
Corporate secretaries and executive/personal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Corporate Secretary | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $88,550 | $64,511 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $132,000 | Between $44,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | ONE Sotheby's International Realty |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a corporate secretary and an executive/personal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Corporate Secretary | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between corporate secretaries' and executive/personal assistants' demographics:
| Corporate Secretary | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.5% Female, 75.5% | Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |