Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between general assistants and front desk administrative 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 a front desk administrative assistant. Additionally, a general assistant has an average salary of $37,718, which is higher than the $33,037 average annual salary of a front desk administrative assistant.
The top three skills for a general assistant include customer service, HR and payroll. The most important skills for a front desk administrative assistant are customer service, patients, and data entry.
| General Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,718 | $33,037 |
| Hourly rate | $18.13 | $15.88 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 66,211 | 95,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| 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.
A front desk administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties to support daily business functions and operations. Front desk administrative assistants assist guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate personnel for their needs. They also monitor office inventories, write purchase requests, and distribute mails across the departments. A front desk administrative assistants review business and financial transactions to generate reports, update information on the company's database, and sort documents for reference.
General assistants and front desk administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,718 | $33,037 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $64,000 | Between $27,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Greenwich, CT | Springfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Professional |
There are a few differences between a general assistant and a front desk administrative assistant in terms of educational background:
| General Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between general assistants' and front desk administrative assistants' demographics:
| General Assistant | Front Desk Administrative Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9% | Male, 10.0% Female, 90.0% |
| 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, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |