Office assistant vs office support assistant

The differences between office assistants and office support 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 an office support assistant. Additionally, an office support assistant has an average salary of $33,548, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.

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

Office assistant vs office support assistant overview

	Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,517	$33,548
Hourly rate	$15.15	$16.13
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	103,293	134,113
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
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 an office support assistant do?

An office support assistant is in charge of performing clerical support tasks to keep offices running smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities typically include answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, organizing and disseminating files, and coordinating with different departments. There are also instances where they must attend meetings and take down information, greet visitors, and monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, they may assist the staff when it comes to programs and projects.

Office assistant vs office support assistant salary

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

	Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Average salary	$31,517	$33,548
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Vermont	New York
Best paying company	Analysis Group	Sierra Pacific Industries
Best paying industry	Government	Transportation

Differences between office assistant and office support assistant education

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

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

Office assistant vs office support assistant demographics

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

	Office Assistant	Office Support Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%	Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9%
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, 9.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between office assistant and office support 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.

Office support assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Maintain HIPAA standards and audit secure patient files prior to filing.
Make sure all records are store and handle in compliance with HIPAA procedures.
Process payroll for administrative and clinical staff.
Create PowerPoint presentations for many different project managers.
Process payroll correcting entry forms, logging pertinent information into SharePoint spreadsheet for team activity.

Office assistant vs office support assistant skills

Common office assistant skills

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

Common office support assistant skills

Customer Service, 20%
Data Entry, 16%
Office Equipment, 8%
Phone Calls, 6%
Office Procedures, 5%
PowerPoint, 5%

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Office Assistant
Office Assistant vs Office Support Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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