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Executive administrative assistant vs executive secretary

The differences between executive administrative assistants and executive secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an executive administrative assistant and an executive secretary. Additionally, an executive secretary has an average salary of $46,594, which is higher than the $44,665 average annual salary of an executive administrative assistant.

The top three skills for an executive administrative assistant include powerpoint, customer service and phone calls. The most important skills for an executive secretary are office procedures, payroll, and word processing.

Executive administrative assistant vs executive secretary overview

Executive Administrative AssistantExecutive Secretary
Yearly salary$44,665$46,594
Hourly rate$21.47$22.40
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs101,940103,802
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4949
Years of experience44

What does an executive administrative assistant do?

An executive administrative assistant is responsible for administering management support to the executive, especially on performing various administrative and clerical tasks. Executive administrative assistants' duties include receiving calls and responding to email queries, keeping accurate meeting records, managing internal and external travels and appointments, coordinating with company events, writing reports, and providing recommendations to improve the business operations. An executive administrative assistant must have comprehensive knowledge with task management tools and systems to ensure work accuracy and efficiency. This role also requires excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to support the management's daily operations.

What does an executive secretary do?

The primary role of executive secretaries is to provide clerical support to an executive or a high-level administrator. They are the ones who conduct the different administrative support tasks for executives which include managing the calendar of executives, answering phone calls, conducting research and sorting important files, preparing and proofreading monthly reports and industry documents that are relevant to the role of executives, and performing some bookkeeping activities such as invoice creation and office inventory tracking.

Executive administrative assistant vs executive secretary salary

Executive administrative assistants and executive secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

Executive Administrative AssistantExecutive Secretary
Average salary$44,665$46,594
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $62,000Between $31,000 And $69,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyMicrosoftInfosysPublicService
Best paying industryTechnologyGovernment

Differences between executive administrative assistant and executive secretary education

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

Executive Administrative AssistantExecutive Secretary
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University

Executive administrative assistant vs executive secretary demographics

Here are the differences between executive administrative assistants' and executive secretaries' demographics:

Executive Administrative AssistantExecutive Secretary
Average age4949
Gender ratioMale, 8.3% Female, 91.7%Male, 7.7% Female, 92.3%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between executive administrative assistant and executive secretary duties and responsibilities

Executive administrative assistant example responsibilities.

  • Format, edit, and manage the daily Visio blueprint documents for all software engineers.
  • Assist SVP with managing transition to effectively disband correspondent department and close office.
  • Orchestrate hotel special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary to all customers.
  • Manage and coordinate complex internal and external meetings and/or events via videoconferencing, WebEx and teleconference calls.
  • Arrange domestic travel including airline reservations, grind transportation and accommodations.
  • Perform accurate data entry and decrease backlog of proposals, proposal requests and future opportunities in Microsoft SharePoint
  • Show more

Executive secretary example responsibilities.

  • Manage specific projects from start to finish as required by the SVP.
  • Manage high volume of requests and correspondence from executives and colleagues, pharmaceutical representatives, patients and outside physicians.
  • Assist in daily typing of correspondence to agencies regarding Medicare and Medicaid contracts.
  • Maintain all the student records in PowerSchool and generate report cards with accuracy.
  • Maintain all departmental information, including transcription of meeting minutes and all audit and payroll documentation.
  • Input miss time punch and vacation/sick time in KRONOS for employees.
  • Show more

Executive administrative assistant vs executive secretary skills

Common executive administrative assistant skills
  • PowerPoint, 12%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Phone Calls, 6%
  • Data Entry, 6%
  • Calendar Management, 4%
  • Payroll, 4%
Common executive secretary skills
  • Office Procedures, 9%
  • Payroll, 9%
  • Word Processing, 8%
  • PowerPoint, 8%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 5%

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