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The differences between managers's assistant/administrative assistant and executive/personal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a manager's assistant/administrative assistant, becoming an executive/personal assistant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive/personal assistant has an average salary of $64,511, which is higher than the $44,190 average annual salary of a manager's assistant/administrative assistant.
The top three skills for a manager's assistant/administrative assistant include inventory control, customer service and financial reports. The most important skills for an executive/personal assistant are financial statements, powerpoint, and calendar management.
| Manager's Assistant/Administrative Assistant | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $44,190 | $64,511 |
| Hourly rate | $21.25 | $31.01 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 40,349 | 110,560 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A manager's assistant, or administrative assistant, is responsible for providing support to the management by performing administrative and clerical tasks as needed. Some of the administrative assistant's duties include receiving and responding to customer's inquiries and concerns through e-mail, phone calls, and personal visits, scheduling meetings or important events, generating operations reports, keeping records of the company's expenses, and monitoring office supplies. An administrative assistant must have exceptional work ethics and time-management skills, as well as the ability to multi-task to perform multiple tasks under minimal supervision.
An executive/personal assistant is responsible for performing secretarial duties, including administrative and clerical tasks as needed, helping the business operations run smoothly and efficiently. Executive/personal assistants receive and respond to client's calls and inquiries, schedule and maintain an organized record of executive and staff meetings, sorting files and documents, and attending general meetings on behalf of the executives. They should also have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, especially on providing recommendations for business decisions and profitable opportunities. An executive/personal assistant creates expense reports, monitors the adequacy of stock inventory, and coordinates with planning company events.
Managers's assistant/administrative assistant and executive/personal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manager's Assistant/Administrative Assistant | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $44,190 | $64,511 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $71,000 | Between $44,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Bain & Company | ONE Sotheby's International Realty |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a manager's assistant/administrative assistant and an executive/personal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Manager's Assistant/Administrative Assistant | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between managers's assistant/administrative assistant' and executive/personal assistants' demographics:
| Manager's Assistant/Administrative Assistant | Executive/Personal Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% | Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |