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The differences between office secretaries 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 secretary and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $33,118 average annual salary of an office secretary.
The top three skills for an office secretary include data entry, phone calls and telephone calls. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.
| Office Secretary | Assistant Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $33,118 | $107,366 |
| Hourly rate | $15.92 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 87,771 | 52,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An office secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to ensure the smooth flow of operations and prevent delays with project deliverables. Office secretaries also welcome guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate department or personnel for their appointments. They schedule meetings, sort documents, handle incoming and outgoing mail, as well as manage inventories for the adequacy of office supplies. An office secretary must have excellent time-management and multitasking skills to conduct tasks within a strict deadline and minimal supervision.
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 secretaries and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Secretary | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average salary | $33,118 | $107,366 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $42,000 | Between $38,000 And $302,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Guidehouse | Elanco |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | - |
There are a few differences between an office secretary and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:
| Office Secretary | Assistant Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office secretaries' and assistant secretaries' demographics:
| Office Secretary | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| 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, 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% |