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The differences between office support assistants and administrative supports 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 support assistant and an administrative support. Additionally, an administrative support has an average salary of $37,692, which is higher than the $33,548 average annual salary of an office support assistant.
The top three skills for an office support assistant include customer service, data entry and office equipment. The most important skills for an administrative support are customer service, administrative tasks, and data entry.
| Office Support Assistant | Administrative Support | |
| Yearly salary | $33,548 | $37,692 |
| Hourly rate | $16.13 | $18.12 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 134,113 | 114,480 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.
Office support assistants and administrative supports have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Support Assistant | Administrative Support | |
| Average salary | $33,548 | $37,692 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $26,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Sierra Pacific Industries | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Technology |
There are a few differences between an office support assistant and an administrative support in terms of educational background:
| Office Support Assistant | Administrative Support | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between office support assistants' and administrative supports' demographics:
| Office Support Assistant | Administrative Support | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |