General office assistant vs assistant secretary

The differences between general office assistants and assistant secretaries 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 office assistant and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $30,764 average annual salary of a general office assistant.

The top three skills for a general office assistant include data entry, customer service and general office assistance. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.

General office assistant vs assistant secretary overview

	General Office Assistant	Assistant Secretary
Yearly salary	$30,764	$107,366
Hourly rate	$14.79	$51.62
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	131,527	52,165
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a general office assistant do?

A general office assistant is in charge of performing clerical support tasks to help an office run smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities include managing the office calendar and schedules, preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, organizing and disseminating files, greeting visitors, and running errands as needed. They must also monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests as necessary. Furthermore, a general office assistant may assist staff in projects and programs while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

What does an assistant secretary do?

An assistant secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of various departments and management personnel and ensure the efficiency of business functions. Assistant secretaries usually assist in business communications, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, reaching out to existing clients to schedule appointments, welcoming guests on the office, and routing calls to the appropriate department. They also handle data entry procedures, updating customer information on the database, as well as creating reports on business and financial transactions.

General office assistant vs assistant secretary salary

General office assistants and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Office Assistant	Assistant Secretary
Average salary	$30,764	$107,366
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $38,000 And $302,000
Highest paying City	Annapolis, MD	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Cargill	Elanco
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between general office assistant and assistant secretary education

There are a few differences between a general office assistant and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:

	General Office Assistant	Assistant Secretary
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

General office assistant vs assistant secretary demographics

Here are the differences between general office assistants' and assistant secretaries' demographics:

	General Office Assistant	Assistant Secretary
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 9.1% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between general office assistant and assistant secretary duties and responsibilities

General office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Utilize QuickBooks to prepare checks and process for submission to insurance companies.
Assign jobs to the installers into the computer by their installer identification number, addressed any payroll questions from the installers.
Distribute payroll and verify accuracy.
Maintain general office tidiness run errands and perform other job-relate duties as assigned.
Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.

Assistant secretary example responsibilities.

Manage and oversee all STO relate actions task to OSD impacting future and current operations in STO.
Assist main accountant with extra jobs and are trained in QuickBooks.
Proofread, edit & type legal briefs, business letters, case notes.
Book keeping, answer phone calls, run errands and handle billing using Quickbooks.
Assist in contacting and informing the parents of upcoming graduates about alumni programs and donations.
Serve as first point of contact for students, faculty, and alumni calling or visiting the main administrative office.

General office assistant vs assistant secretary skills

Common general office assistant skills

Data Entry, 26%
Customer Service, 12%
General Office Assistance, 9%
Front Desk, 7%
Schedule Appointments, 6%
Office Equipment, 6%

Common assistant secretary skills

Telephone Calls, 13%
Payroll, 9%
Scheduling Appointments, 9%
Financial Statements, 9%
Office Equipment, 7%
Computer System, 5%

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General Office Assistant
General Office Assistant vs Assistant Secretary

Updated January 8, 2025

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