Program secretary vs administrative associate

The differences between program secretaries and administrative associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a program secretary and an administrative associate. Additionally, an administrative associate has an average salary of $34,873, which is higher than the $32,566 average annual salary of a program secretary.

The top three skills for a program secretary include data entry, scheduling appointments and phone calls. The most important skills for an administrative associate are administrative tasks, purchase orders, and customer service.

Program secretary vs administrative associate overview

	Program Secretary	Administrative Associate
Yearly salary	$32,566	$34,873
Hourly rate	$15.66	$16.77
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	226,712	54,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

Program secretary vs administrative associate salary

Program secretaries and administrative associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Secretary	Administrative Associate
Average salary	$32,566	$34,873
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $40,000	Between $23,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Foster City, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Washington State University	Lord Abbett
Best paying industry	Telecommunication	Finance

Differences between program secretary and administrative associate education

There are a few differences between a program secretary and an administrative associate in terms of educational background:

	Program Secretary	Administrative Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Western Carolina University

Program secretary vs administrative associate demographics

Here are the differences between program secretaries' and administrative associates' demographics:

	Program Secretary	Administrative Associate
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 6.6% Female, 93.4%	Male, 21.6% Female, 78.4%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between program secretary and administrative associate duties and responsibilities

Program secretary example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Maintain schedules, business travel, expense reports, overtime reports, payroll and labor time-card.
Prepare and submit payroll, travel expenses, and other reimbursement relate material for staff.
Create PowerPoint presentations for yearly events.
Register patients/checked Medicaid for approval and schedule patient psychiatric appointments.
Distribute Medicaid waivers and documentation reports to services and support managers on monthly basis.

Administrative associate example responsibilities.

Manage consultants' calendar, arrange travel, paid bills via QuickBooks software.
Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Enter invoices in QuickBooks and P2P.
Fulfill medical record requests from patients, providers and insurance companies in a HIPAA compliant way.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations and address day to day general operations and office procedures.
Prepare PowerPoint & other digital media for presentations that are distributed to upper management.

Program secretary vs administrative associate skills

Common program secretary skills

Data Entry, 14%
Scheduling Appointments, 9%
Phone Calls, 8%
Office Equipment, 8%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Clerical Support, 7%

Common administrative associate skills

Administrative Tasks, 12%
Purchase Orders, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Telephone Calls, 9%
Travel Arrangements, 9%
Patients, 8%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Program Secretary
Program Secretary vs Administrative Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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