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The differences between office associates 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 associate and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $31,276 average annual salary of an office associate.
The top three skills for an office associate include customer service, patients and data entry. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.
| Office Associate | Assistant Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $31,276 | $107,366 |
| Hourly rate | $15.04 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 80,214 | 52,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Office associates have varied duties and responsibilities within an organization. They are responsible for the cash management operation, customer service functions, and administrative services. Other responsibilities include organizing and maintaining files and documents, administering all bookkeeping activities, and managing the entire office. Office associates also oversee the overall human resource activities within an organization, such as handling employment forms and health insurance administration. The skills required for this position include communication skills, organizational skills, and active listening skills.
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 associates and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Associate | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average salary | $31,276 | $107,366 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $38,000 And $302,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Persistent Systems | Elanco |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between an office associate and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:
| Office Associate | Assistant Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office associates' and assistant secretaries' demographics:
| Office Associate | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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% |