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The differences between executive/personal assistants and 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/personal assistant, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an executive/personal assistant has an average salary of $64,511, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.
The top three skills for an executive/personal assistant include financial statements, powerpoint and calendar management. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $64,511 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $31.01 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 110,560 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
An executive/personal assistant is responsible for performing secretarial duties, including administrative and clerical tasks as needed, helping the business operations run smoothly and efficiently. Executive/personal assistants receive and respond to client's calls and inquiries, schedule and maintain an organized record of executive and staff meetings, sorting files and documents, and attending general meetings on behalf of the executives. They should also have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, especially on providing recommendations for business decisions and profitable opportunities. An executive/personal assistant creates expense reports, monitors the adequacy of stock inventory, and coordinates with planning company events.
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Executive/personal assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $64,511 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $92,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | ONE Sotheby's International Realty | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Education |
There are a few differences between an executive/personal assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive/personal assistants' and assistants' demographics:
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| 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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 6% |