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The differences between executive assistant to executive directors 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 assistant to executive director and an executive secretary. Additionally, an executive assistant to executive director has an average salary of $50,166, which is higher than the $46,594 average annual salary of an executive secretary.
The top three skills for an executive assistant to executive director include data entry, financial reports and payroll. The most important skills for an executive secretary are office procedures, payroll, and word processing.
| Executive Assistant To Executive Director | Executive Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $50,166 | $46,594 |
| Hourly rate | $24.12 | $22.40 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 35,370 | 103,802 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An executive assistant to the executive director is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties on behalf of the executive director to ensure smooth office operations. Executive director assistants manage the executive director's appointments, address the clients' inquiries and concerns, process business transactions, create reports, and monitor financial transactions. They also advise the executive directors on business decisions, as well as suggesting business opportunities to identify services that would increase the company's revenues and achieve profitability goals.
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 assistant to executive directors and executive secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Assistant To Executive Director | Executive Secretary | |
| Average salary | $50,166 | $46,594 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $76,000 | Between $31,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Cisco | InfosysPublicService |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Government |
There are a few differences between an executive assistant to executive director and an executive secretary in terms of educational background:
| Executive Assistant To Executive Director | Executive Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive assistant to executive directors' and executive secretaries' demographics:
| Executive Assistant To Executive Director | Executive Secretary | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.8% Female, 87.2% | Male, 7.7% Female, 92.3% |
| 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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |