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The differences between office aides 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 an office aide and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $29,255 average annual salary of an office aide.
The top three skills for an office aide include data entry, phone calls and telephone calls. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.
| Office Aide | Assistant Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $29,255 | $107,366 |
| Hourly rate | $14.06 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 76,712 | 52,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Also called an office assistant, an office aide is someone whose responsibility focuses on secretarial and administrative tasks in health practices, schools, businesses, or any other institution. Office aides help with logistical and clerical needs like copying files, curating schedules, and answering phones. They manage and organize files, receive and direct visitors, create presentations, and answer emails. The skills they need include computer and email use, filing documents, answering multiline phone systems, and typing.
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.
Office aides and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Aide | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average salary | $29,255 | $107,366 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $37,000 | Between $38,000 And $302,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Community Solutions | Elanco |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between an office aide and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:
| Office Aide | Assistant Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office aides' and assistant secretaries' demographics:
| Office Aide | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.2% Female, 75.8% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 8.3% White, 52.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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% |