Management assistant vs department assistant

The differences between management assistants and department 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 management assistant and a department assistant. Additionally, a management assistant has an average salary of $44,020, which is higher than the $40,698 average annual salary of a department assistant.

The top three skills for a management assistant include patients, word processing and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a department assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Management assistant vs department assistant overview

	Management Assistant	Department Assistant
Yearly salary	$44,020	$40,698
Hourly rate	$21.16	$19.57
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	107,324	88,268
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a management assistant do?

A management assistant is responsible for organizing all clerical and administrative tasks in an organization by setting up appointments and meetings, updating records, writing reports, and preparing important documents. They can do multitasking and possess excellent communication and strong decision-making skills to be able to recruit and train sales associates, inventory monitoring, and ordering merchandise that is on-demand aside from conducting research about competitive products and analyzing customer behavior to meet customer expectations.

What does a department assistant do?

A department assistant is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support and ensure the smooth operations of an entire department. Department assistants manage meeting calendars, book travel appointments, assist with company events, respond to clients' inquiries and requests through phone calls or personal visits, update customer records, organize electronic files, create business proposals, and monitor supplies. A department assistant must have excellent organizational and communication skills, as well as the ability to multitask under minimal supervision.

Management assistant vs department assistant salary

Management assistants and department assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Management Assistant	Department Assistant
Average salary	$44,020	$40,698
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $62,000	Between $24,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Nokia	Dorsey & Whitney
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between management assistant and department assistant education

There are a few differences between a management assistant and a department assistant in terms of educational background:

	Management Assistant	Department Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Management assistant vs department assistant demographics

Here are the differences between management assistants' and department assistants' demographics:

	Management Assistant	Department Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%	Male, 34.0% Female, 66.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between management assistant and department assistant duties and responsibilities

Management assistant example responsibilities.

Manage the operations for FOH and BOH facilities.
Develop management and leadership principles while managing, training, and motivating employees in fast-pace, high-volume sales/customer service business.
Work with HQ in resolving payroll, personnel, performance, conduct, EEO, congressional, and legal issues.
Used QuickBooks to facilitate small business accounting.
Receive and process visit requests through JPAS.
Start as cashier, learned the register POS system.

Department assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and develop the daily clinical schedule for the in-patient rehabilitation staff taking into consideration Medicare guidelines and staffing ratios.
Team player/adaptable HIPPA compliant, CPR certify.
Maintain and process Kronos time and attendance records for department employees.
Perform CPR and assist in critical care room with traumas and arrests.
Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, using soapy water or other cleaners.
Prepare and submit time to Kronos system biweekly and Lawson swift maker schedule for staff.

Management assistant vs department assistant skills

Common management assistant skills

Patients, 13%
Word Processing, 12%
Customer Satisfaction, 11%
PowerPoint, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Statistical Data, 5%

Common department assistant skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 15%
Data Entry, 8%
Word Processing, 6%
Purchase Orders, 5%
Payroll, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Management Assistant
Management Assistant vs Department Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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