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The differences between executive assistants and executive legal assistants 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 an executive legal assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an executive legal assistant has an average salary of $53,442, 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 an executive legal assistant are powerpoint, expense reports, and litigation.
| Executive Assistant | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $50,539 | $53,442 |
| Hourly rate | $24.30 | $25.69 |
| Growth rate | -8% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 93,116 | 72,148 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 49 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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.
An Executive Legal Assistant provides comprehensive support to lawyers and legal offices. They start as entry-level assistants before specializing in a field after a few years with experience; litigation, criminal law, family law, international law. Their duties include performing legal research by gathering case information for presentation, writing legal reports based on research and interviews, scheduling meetings, organizing travel arrangements, and organizing documentation for easy accessibility. An Executive Legal Assistant must be well organized, analytical research skills, and experience in case management. They typically spend long work hours spent in libraries and offices, requiring occasional travel.
Executive assistants and executive legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Assistant | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $50,539 | $53,442 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $71,000 | Between $37,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between an executive assistant and an executive legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Executive Assistant | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between executive assistants' and executive legal assistants' demographics:
| Executive Assistant | Executive Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 49 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9% | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% |
| 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, 8.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |