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The differences between executive receptionists and executive secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an executive receptionist, becoming an executive secretary takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive secretary has an average salary of $46,594, which is higher than the $41,640 average annual salary of an executive receptionist.
The top three skills for an executive receptionist include front desk, scheduling conference rooms and reservations. The most important skills for an executive secretary are office procedures, payroll, and word processing.
An executive receptionist works with chief officers of organizations, handles administrative tasks, schedules meetings, arranges travel, and handles secretarial tasks. For board meetings, they ensure that conference rooms are clean, prepare refreshments, and refill supplies. They also manage an executive director's schedule, transcribe meeting minutes for board meetings, and ensure materials are ready for presentations.
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 receptionists and executive secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Executive Receptionist | Executive Secretary | |
| Average salary | $41,640 | $46,594 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $54,000 | Between $31,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | InfosysPublicService |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between an executive receptionist and an executive secretary in terms of educational background:
| Executive Receptionist | Executive Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between executive receptionists' and executive secretaries' demographics:
| Executive Receptionist | Executive Secretary | |
| Average age | 42 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6% | Male, 7.7% Female, 92.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 6.1% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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 | 6% | 10% |