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The differences between executive/personal assistants and office 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 office assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an executive/personal assistant has an average salary of $64,511, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.
The top three skills for an executive/personal assistant include financial statements, powerpoint and calendar management. The most important skills for an office assistant are data entry, patients, and customer service.
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Office Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $64,511 | $31,517 |
| Hourly rate | $31.01 | $15.15 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 110,560 | 103,293 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Average age | 49 | 47 |
| 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.
Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.
Executive/personal assistants and office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Office Assistant | |
| Average salary | $64,511 | $31,517 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $92,000 | Between $24,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Vermont |
| Best paying company | ONE Sotheby's International Realty | Analysis Group |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Government |
There are a few differences between an executive/personal assistant and an office assistant in terms of educational background:
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Office Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive/personal assistants' and office assistants' demographics:
| Executive/Personal Assistant | Office Assistant | |
| Average age | 49 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5% | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% |
| 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, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 6% |