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The differences between general assistants and administrative office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a general assistant and an administrative office assistant. Additionally, a general assistant has an average salary of $37,718, which is higher than the $33,318 average annual salary of an administrative office assistant.
The top three skills for a general assistant include customer service, HR and payroll. The most important skills for an administrative office assistant are customer service, data entry, and phone calls.
| General Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,718 | $33,318 |
| Hourly rate | $18.13 | $16.02 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 66,211 | 81,528 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
General Assistants are responsible for providing administrative assistance to department teams and executive management of an organization. Their duties include organizing meetings and event schedules, book meeting rooms, answer incoming phone calls, reply emails, and respond to queries. They are responsible for replenishing office supplies and undertaking clerical tasks such as printing, scanning, and photocopying. General Assistants also liaise with contractors and building managers to ensure maintenance work is handled promptly without inconvenience.
An administrative office assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to assist in daily management operations. These duties include taking calls and responding to client and customers' inquiries and concerns, scheduling meetings and conferences, organizing files and submitting required documents, sorting invoices for release, processing travel arrangements, receiving emails, forwarding reports to the appropriate department, and coordinating with company's events. An administrative assistant must be detail-oriented, as well as having excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties even under minimal supervision.
General assistants and administrative office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,718 | $33,318 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $64,000 | Between $25,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Greenwich, CT | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | Buckley King |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Government |
There are a few differences between a general assistant and an administrative office assistant in terms of educational background:
| General Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between general assistants' and administrative office assistants' demographics:
| General Assistant | Administrative Office Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9% | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |