Departmental secretary vs administrative support

The differences between departmental secretaries and administrative supports can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a departmental secretary and an administrative support. Additionally, an administrative support has an average salary of $37,692, which is higher than the $31,261 average annual salary of a departmental secretary.

The top three skills for a departmental secretary include purchase orders, dictation and epic. The most important skills for an administrative support are customer service, administrative tasks, and data entry.

Departmental secretary vs administrative support overview

	Departmental Secretary	Administrative Support
Yearly salary	$31,261	$37,692
Hourly rate	$15.03	$18.12
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	11,012	114,480
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

Departmental secretary vs administrative support salary

Departmental secretaries and administrative supports have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Departmental Secretary	Administrative Support
Average salary	$31,261	$37,692
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $26,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Rhode Island
Best paying company	-	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between departmental secretary and administrative support education

There are a few differences between a departmental secretary and an administrative support in terms of educational background:

	Departmental Secretary	Administrative Support
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Departmental secretary vs administrative support demographics

Here are the differences between departmental secretaries' and administrative supports' demographics:

	Departmental Secretary	Administrative Support
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 9.4% Female, 90.6%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 4.0% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between departmental secretary and administrative support duties and responsibilities

Departmental secretary example responsibilities.

Manage financial bookkeeping efficiently for the company using QuickBooks.
Complete and monitor payroll in the API system for multiple employees.
Prepare and submit employment, payroll and tuition forms to comptroller for faculty, staff and students.
Coordinate between student, local and national political movements by issuing departmental briefings for the political science and economics departments.
Initiate and monitor requisitions through PeopleSoft for office supplies, laboratory supplies including purchasing lab animals for research and travel reimbursement.

Administrative support example responsibilities.

Manage company finances using QuickBooks software, including monitoring the operating budget and collecting on unpaid invoices.
Interview veterans to determine issues/concerns and recommend services.
Mail VA benefits correspondence to veterans and various organizations.
Prepare payroll packages for distribution and delivery, including collating and packing of documents.
Research and maintain reference library with ADAPCP in support of prevention and rehabilitation efforts.
Develop SharePoint training of project personal and create operating procedures, training documents and briefings.

Departmental secretary vs administrative support skills

Common departmental secretary skills

Purchase Orders, 18%
Dictation, 11%
Epic, 9%
Payroll, 9%
Travel Arrangements, 9%
Telephone Calls, 9%

Common administrative support skills

Customer Service, 18%
Administrative Tasks, 8%
Data Entry, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Phone Calls, 6%
Patients, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Departmental Secretary
Departmental Secretary vs Administrative Support

Updated January 8, 2025

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