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The differences between personnel assistants 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 a personnel assistant and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $38,830 average annual salary of a personnel assistant.
The top three skills for a personnel assistant include human resources, data entry and office equipment. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.
| Personnel Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Yearly salary | $38,830 | $107,366 |
| Hourly rate | $18.67 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | - | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 6,684 | 52,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Personnel assistants are professionals who perform administrative duties while assisting the human resources director to maintain and keep the records and confidential files of employees working in an organization. These assistants must communicate with all personnel about their compensation policies while ensuring that the company policies and procedures are consistently applied. They are required to coordinate with supervisors to create job descriptions and develop recruiting advertisements. Personnel assistants must also purchase office supplies while maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of their office area.
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.
Personnel assistants and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personnel Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average salary | $38,830 | $107,366 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $51,000 | Between $38,000 And $302,000 |
| Highest paying City | Monterey, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | Elanco |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | - |
There are a few differences between a personnel assistant and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:
| Personnel Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between personnel assistants' and assistant secretaries' demographics:
| Personnel Assistant | Assistant Secretary | |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.5% Female, 81.5% | Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 9.1% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | 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 | 15% | 6% |