General office assistant vs staff assistant

The differences between general office assistants and staff 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 office assistant and a staff assistant. Additionally, a staff assistant has an average salary of $41,778, 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 a staff assistant are customer service, patients, and data entry.

General office assistant vs staff assistant overview

	General Office Assistant	Staff Assistant
Yearly salary	$30,764	$41,778
Hourly rate	$14.79	$20.09
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	131,527	126,202
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
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 a staff assistant do?

A staff assistant is a company employee who is tasked to support and help staff members to adequately fill their roles and assuring that the organization is running efficiently. Working under an administrative supervisor, an assistant's tasks include answering phone calls, scheduling meetings or appointments, and booking the necessary travels. Moreover, an assistant should have excellent skills in written and verbal communication and is highly organized with minimal supervision. An assistant may be able to work in a wide variety of settings, which includes healthcare facilities and government offices.

General office assistant vs staff assistant salary

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

	General Office Assistant	Staff Assistant
Average salary	$30,764	$41,778
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $27,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	Annapolis, MD	Bridgewater, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Connecticut
Best paying company	Cargill	Massasoit Community College
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between general office assistant and staff assistant education

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

	General Office Assistant	Staff Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

General office assistant vs staff assistant demographics

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

	General Office Assistant	Staff Assistant
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%	Male, 29.4% Female, 70.6%
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 staff assistant 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.

Staff assistant example responsibilities.

Manage, troubleshoot, install and resolve hardware, software configurations, and network relate issues.
Manage candidate Facebook page and facilitate other advertising.
Manage fireworks inventory through QuickBooks and process customer wholesale orders.
Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Conduct weekly groups for newly refer veterans and potential landlords on the HUD VASH searching process.
Supervise the daily operations, office work and customer service in a windows replacement company).

General office assistant vs staff assistant 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 staff assistant skills

Customer Service, 15%
Patients, 10%
Data Entry, 7%
PowerPoint, 5%
Office Procedures, 5%
Veterans, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
General Office Assistant
General Office Assistant vs Staff Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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