Executive administrator vs chief of staff

The differences between executive administrators and chiefs of staff can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an executive administrator, becoming a chief of staff takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief of staff has an average salary of $130,835, which is higher than the $52,855 average annual salary of an executive administrator.

The top three skills for an executive administrator include powerpoint, customer service and expense reports. The most important skills for a chief of staff are PET, team support, and project management.

Executive administrator vs chief of staff overview

	Executive Administrator	Chief Of Staff
Yearly salary	$52,855	$130,835
Hourly rate	$25.41	$62.90
Growth rate	-8%	6%
Number of jobs	141,235	124,272
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	49	52
Years of experience	4	-

What does an executive administrator do?

An executive administrator is responsible for assisting the senior management staff in planning strategies and analyzing business decisions to achieve the company's goals and objectives. Executive administrators schedule meetings and handle appointments, as well as helping with the implementation of training and programs for the employees to reach their maximum operational potential and increase productivity to meet projects' demands and ensure the highest customer satisfaction. They must have exceptional time-management and organizational skills, especially on performing administrative and clerical duties as needed, as well as excellent communication skills to respond to clients' inquiries, concerns, and requests.

What does a chief of staff do?

A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.

Executive administrator vs chief of staff salary

Executive administrators and chiefs of staff have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Executive Administrator	Chief Of Staff
Average salary	$52,855	$130,835
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $77,000	Between $85,000 And $200,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Lyft
Best paying industry	Technology	Start-up

Differences between executive administrator and chief of staff education

There are a few differences between an executive administrator and a chief of staff in terms of educational background:

	Executive Administrator	Chief Of Staff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Executive administrator vs chief of staff demographics

Here are the differences between executive administrators' and chiefs of staff' demographics:

	Executive Administrator	Chief Of Staff
Average age	49	52
Gender ratio	Male, 14.8% Female, 85.2%	Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	12%

Differences between executive administrator and chief of staff duties and responsibilities

Executive administrator example responsibilities.

Manage grant funding from NIH, HRSA, and private foundations.
Manage on-site nursing services deliver to patients; oversee billing and supervise on-site personnel.
Manage day-to-day human resource functions: maintain HRIS database, conduct new employee orientation, and benefits administration.
Manage 200 staff personnel (145 FTE's), consisting of 15 classifications, two unions and exempt personnel.
Develop twitter marketing landing pages, manage and maintain social marketing sites, blogs, and constant contact marketing efforts.
Achieve JCAHO accreditation for ambulatory care facilities.

Chief of staff example responsibilities.

Lead headquarters (HQ) operations staff.
Manage the G3's fiscal year budget planning, formulation, and execution.
Supervise the G2 administrative section and maintain and manage the G2 budget and material resources.
Manage the predeployment training and the deployment process to receiving commands, and subsequent redeployment and deactivation.
Manage budgets of $75,000 to $22 million paying keen attention to cost containment and ROI.
Credit for managing and improving the HAZMAT program, which serve as a benchmark example for the base community.

Executive administrator vs chief of staff skills

Common executive administrator skills

PowerPoint, 10%
Customer Service, 9%
Expense Reports, 7%
Office Procedures, 6%
Payroll, 5%
Data Entry, 5%

Common chief of staff skills

PET, 15%
Team Support, 11%
Project Management, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Direct Reports, 6%
Marketing Campaigns, 6%

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Executive Administrator vs Chief Of Staff

Updated January 8, 2025

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