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Executive staff assistant vs chief of staff

The differences between executive staff assistants and chiefs of staff 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 staff assistant, becoming a chief of staff takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief of staff has an average salary of $130,835, which is higher than the $58,792 average annual salary of an executive staff assistant.

The top three skills for an executive staff assistant include powerpoint, provides administrative support and travel arrangements. The most important skills for a chief of staff are PET, team support, and project management.

Executive staff assistant vs chief of staff overview

Executive Staff AssistantChief Of Staff
Yearly salary$58,792$130,835
Hourly rate$28.27$62.90
Growth rate-8%6%
Number of jobs158,577124,272
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age4952
Years of experience4-

What does an executive staff assistant do?

Executive Administrative Assistants are skilled employees who serve as the administrative point of contact between executives of an organization and internal or external clients. These assistants must perform a variety of administrative tasks such as taking messages, routing correspondence, and handling the requests of executives. They are required to maintain a diary to arrange meetings and appointments as well as provide reminders to the executives. Executive Administrative Assistants must also monitor their office supplies while developing an efficient system to keep and file documents.

What does a chief of staff do?

A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.

Executive staff assistant vs chief of staff salary

Executive staff assistants and chiefs of staff have different pay scales, as shown below.

Executive Staff AssistantChief Of Staff
Average salary$58,792$130,835
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $122,000Between $85,000 And $200,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyCitiLyft
Best paying industry-Start-up

Differences between executive staff assistant and chief of staff education

There are a few differences between an executive staff assistant and a chief of staff in terms of educational background:

Executive Staff AssistantChief Of Staff
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Executive staff assistant vs chief of staff demographics

Here are the differences between executive staff assistants' and chiefs of staff' demographics:

Executive Staff AssistantChief Of Staff
Average age4952
Gender ratioMale, 29.8% Female, 70.2%Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0%
Race ratioBlack 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage10%12%

Differences between executive staff assistant and chief of staff duties and responsibilities

Executive staff assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage VIP pipelines, acknowledge visitors and support with special projects include research and events and dealing with clients.
  • Compile, manage and organize travel and expense reports processing and submitting reports using PeopleSoft for reimbursement.
  • Design and maintain a SharePoint site for the headquarters readiness office.
  • Design and create SharePoint site for CIO to improve document tracking and to provide a document repository for authoritative items.
  • Generate in-depth presentations using PowerPoint.
  • Perform operational administrative/clerical work (payroll, inventory control )
  • Show more

Chief of staff example responsibilities.

  • Lead headquarters (HQ) operations staff.
  • Manage the G3's fiscal year budget planning, formulation, and execution.
  • Supervise the G2 administrative section and maintain and manage the G2 budget and material resources.
  • Manage the predeployment training and the deployment process to receiving commands, and subsequent redeployment and deactivation.
  • Manage budgets of $75,000 to $22 million paying keen attention to cost containment and ROI.
  • Credit for managing and improving the HAZMAT program, which serve as a benchmark example for the base community.
  • Show more

Executive staff assistant vs chief of staff skills

Common executive staff assistant skills
  • PowerPoint, 14%
  • Provides Administrative Support, 9%
  • Travel Arrangements, 7%
  • Meeting Minutes, 6%
  • Logistics, 6%
  • Office Equipment, 5%
Common chief of staff skills
  • PET, 15%
  • Team Support, 11%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Oversight, 7%
  • Direct Reports, 6%
  • Marketing Campaigns, 6%

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