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Personal assistant/office assistant vs administrative professional

The differences between personal assistants/office assistants and administrative professionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a personal assistant/office assistant and an administrative professional. Additionally, a personal assistant/office assistant has an average salary of $53,954, which is higher than the $39,486 average annual salary of an administrative professional.

The top three skills for a personal assistant/office assistant include customer service, travel arrangements and financial statements. The most important skills for an administrative professional are customer service, powerpoint, and data entry.

Personal assistant/office assistant vs administrative professional overview

Personal Assistant/Office AssistantAdministrative Professional
Yearly salary$53,954$39,486
Hourly rate$25.94$18.98
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs82,37987,372
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age5050
Years of experience22

Personal assistant/office assistant vs administrative professional salary

Personal assistants/office assistants and administrative professionals have different pay scales, as shown below.

Personal Assistant/Office AssistantAdministrative Professional
Average salary$53,954$39,486
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $77,000Between $23,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Connecticut
Best paying company-HomeOwners Advantage
Best paying industry--

Differences between personal assistant/office assistant and administrative professional education

There are a few differences between a personal assistant/office assistant and an administrative professional in terms of educational background:

Personal Assistant/Office AssistantAdministrative Professional
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University

Personal assistant/office assistant vs administrative professional demographics

Here are the differences between personal assistants/office assistants' and administrative professionals' demographics:

Personal Assistant/Office AssistantAdministrative Professional
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 14.3% Female, 85.7%Male, 17.4% Female, 82.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between personal assistant/office assistant and administrative professional duties and responsibilities

Personal assistant/office assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage accounting operations, accounting close, account reporting and reconciliations.
  • Set up and attend conference calls between SEO companies to help promote.
  • Develop onsite body content, meta descriptions and page titles in support of SEO strategies.
  • Organize a brand new practice by creating all department forms such as patient registration and HIPAA law information.
  • Help implement practice's quality assurance and control program, efforts ensure compliance with HIPAA, CLIA and OSHA regulations.
  • Perform payroll procedures and used QuickBooks to record daily accounting activities.
  • Show more

Administrative professional example responsibilities.

  • Manage documentation, folder structures and user permissions in SharePoint.
  • Participate in committee meetings by preparing minutes and presentation summaries, planning meeting agendas, and organizing and managing meeting logistics.
  • Keep vendors accounts up to date, process payroll, collect on accounts receivable, keep accounts payable up to date.
  • Create document libraries for several hospital initiatives in SharePoint.
  • Receive and distribute payroll garnishment/bankruptcy notification letters to employees.
  • Develop and maintain relevant organizational charts, facilitating retrieval of staff data in PowerPoint format.
  • Show more

Personal assistant/office assistant vs administrative professional skills

Common personal assistant/office assistant skills
  • Customer Service, 16%
  • Travel Arrangements, 7%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Appointment Scheduling, 5%
  • Front Desk, 4%
  • QuickBooks, 4%
Common administrative professional skills
  • Customer Service, 16%
  • PowerPoint, 12%
  • Data Entry, 11%
  • Travel Arrangements, 7%
  • Administrative Tasks, 3%
  • Office Equipment, 3%

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