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The differences between executive/personal assistants and assistant secretaries 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 secretary takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $64,511 average annual salary of an executive/personal assistant.
The top three skills for an executive/personal assistant include financial statements, powerpoint and calendar management. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $64,511 | $107,366 |
| Hourly rate | $31.01 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 110,560 | 52,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| 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 secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of various departments and management personnel and ensure the efficiency of business functions. Assistant secretaries usually assist in business communications, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, reaching out to existing clients to schedule appointments, welcoming guests on the office, and routing calls to the appropriate department. They also handle data entry procedures, updating customer information on the database, as well as creating reports on business and financial transactions.
Executive/personal assistants and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average salary | $64,511 | $107,366 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $92,000 | Between $38,000 And $302,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | ONE Sotheby's International Realty | Elanco |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between an executive/personal assistant and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive/personal assistants' and assistant secretaries' demographics:
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 6% |