Executive assistant vs chief of staff

The differences between executive assistants 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 assistant, 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 $50,539 average annual salary of an executive assistant.

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

Executive assistant vs chief of staff overview

	Executive Assistant	Chief Of Staff
Yearly salary	$50,539	$130,835
Hourly rate	$24.30	$62.90
Growth rate	-8%	6%
Number of jobs	93,116	124,272
Job satisfaction	4.4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	49	52
Years of experience	4	-

What does an executive assistant do?

Executive assistants are employees who are assigned to work under the supervision of company executives. They manage the activities of the executives they are assigned to by manning the executive's calendar, scheduling appointments, setting meetings, ensuring that the executives are familiar with their schedule for the day, and taking note of any deliverable that may be needed. They are also responsible for taking care of any document or paperwork that the executive needs, as well as preparing presentation materials or briefers for meetings. Executive assistants are also usually exposed to actual company operations to further understand how the business works and to be of better help to the executive.

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 assistant vs chief of staff salary

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

	Executive Assistant	Chief Of Staff
Average salary	$50,539	$130,835
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $71,000	Between $85,000 And $200,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Meta	Lyft
Best paying industry	Finance	Start-up

Differences between executive assistant and chief of staff education

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

	Executive Assistant	Chief Of Staff
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Pennsylvania

Executive assistant vs chief of staff demographics

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

	Executive Assistant	Chief Of Staff
Average age	49	52
Gender ratio	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%	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 assistant and chief of staff duties and responsibilities

Executive assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain AVP calendar and schedule using independent judgment.
Manage and review WinStar (KRONOS) time clock hours for hourly union employees.
Organize and manage administrative, audio/visual (WebEx, GoToMeeting), and catering of department meetings.
Manage the scope of accounting processes including billing, bookkeeping and expense data management with strong oversight of A/R and A/P.
Create and manage executive presentations using Visio and PowerPoint.
Compile, manage and organize travel and expense reports processing and submitting reports using PeopleSoft for reimbursement.

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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.

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Executive assistant vs chief of staff skills

Common executive assistant skills

PowerPoint, 13%
Customer Service, 8%
Phone Calls, 6%
Calendar Management, 6%
Administrative Tasks, 3%
Financial Reports, 3%

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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Updated January 8, 2025

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