Office assistant vs general office assistant

The differences between office assistants and general office assistants 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 assistant and a general office assistant. Additionally, an office assistant has an average salary of $31,517, which is higher than the $30,764 average annual salary of a general office assistant.

The top three skills for an office assistant include data entry, patients and customer service. The most important skills for a general office assistant are data entry, customer service, and general office assistance.

Office assistant vs general office assistant overview

	Office Assistant	General Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,517	$30,764
Hourly rate	$15.15	$14.79
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	103,293	131,527
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does an office assistant do?

Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.

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.

Office assistant vs general office assistant salary

Office assistants and general office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Assistant	General Office Assistant
Average salary	$31,517	$30,764
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $24,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Annapolis, MD
Highest paying state	Vermont	Alaska
Best paying company	Analysis Group	Cargill
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between office assistant and general office assistant education

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

	Office Assistant	General Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Office assistant vs general office assistant demographics

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

	Office Assistant	General Office Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office assistant and general office assistant duties and responsibilities

Office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage filing, photocopying, collating, and faxing public and seal case documents.
Manage CI s SharePoint pages and serve as CI s subject matter expert on SharePoint working groups.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Compile payroll records, detect and reconcile discrepancies, accurately report outcomes using QuickBooks.
Maintain office services by organizing office operations and procedures, preparing payroll, controlling correspondences, and designing filing systems.
File client paperwork upholding HIPAA standards.

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.

Office assistant vs general office assistant skills

Common office assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Scheduling Appointments, 6%
Front Desk, 6%

Common general office assistant skills

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

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Office Assistant
Office Assistant vs General Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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