Project assistant vs contract administrative assistant

The differences between project assistants and contract administrative assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a project assistant and a contract administrative assistant. Additionally, a contract administrative assistant has an average salary of $39,073, which is higher than the $38,564 average annual salary of a project assistant.

The top three skills for a project assistant include data entry, powerpoint and customer service. The most important skills for a contract administrative assistant are data entry, purchase orders, and powerpoint.

Project assistant vs contract administrative assistant overview

	Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Yearly salary	$38,564	$39,073
Hourly rate	$18.54	$18.79
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	59,664	64,677
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a project assistant do?

A project assistant's role mainly revolves around assisting a project manager. The responsibilities may vary upon the industry or organization. Still, most of them will be administrative tasks such as preparing reports and documentation, responding to calls and other forms of correspondence, and coordinating with various offices and personnel. Furthermore, a Project Assistant must also ensure the department's efficient workflow, proper utilization of budget, review documentation and schedules, attend meetings, and maintain an information database.

What does a contract administrative assistant do?

A contract administrative assistant works on a contractual basis at offices where they are in charge of performing support tasks. Among their responsibilities include answering calls and correspondence, filing and organizing documents, coordinating with different departments, arranging appointments and schedules, preparing and processing files, and running errands as needed. They may also monitor the inventory of office supplies, processing procurement requests when necessary. Furthermore, a contract administrative assistant must maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.

Project assistant vs contract administrative assistant salary

Project assistants and contract administrative assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Average salary	$38,564	$39,073
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $57,000	Between $31,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Portland, OR	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Oregon	Connecticut
Best paying company	AstraZeneca	Minnesota State Fair
Best paying industry	Technology	Pharmaceutical

Differences between project assistant and contract administrative assistant education

There are a few differences between a project assistant and a contract administrative assistant in terms of educational background:

	Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Project assistant vs contract administrative assistant demographics

Here are the differences between project assistants' and contract administrative assistants' demographics:

	Project Assistant	Contract Administrative Assistant
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1%	Male, 10.2% Female, 89.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between project assistant and contract administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Project assistant example responsibilities.

Manage SharePoint document repository and ensure that project managers comply with PMO policies.
Manage facilities by coordinating relocation of departments by using the facilities management database and VISIO.
Compose and balance departmental grants, tabulate and process payroll distribution, manage and maintain office routine during supervisor's absence.
Manage QA budget for assign projects by identifying actual and potential budget over-runs and under-runs, develop and monitor project/program plans.
Create a useful project tracking tool call JIRA.
Communicate with donors via phone, email, and twitter.

Contract administrative assistant example responsibilities.

Manage and develop the daily clinical schedule for the in-patient rehabilitation staff taking into consideration Medicare guidelines and staffing ratios.
Orchestrate and design all RFP and RFQ proposals.
Issue RFQ's for subcontracts, evaluate proposals, award contracts and oversee through closeout.
Streamline staff scheduling through team management software (SharePoint) by coordinating schedules, meetings, and travel arrangements.
Transfer payroll and accounting paperwork to electronic form and index for future reference.
Assist in the creation and distribution of PowerPoint presentations for company executives and outside affiliates.

Project assistant vs contract administrative assistant skills

Common project assistant skills

Data Entry, 11%
PowerPoint, 8%
Customer Service, 8%
Project Management, 8%
Meeting Minutes, 4%
Data Collection, 4%

Common contract administrative assistant skills

Data Entry, 16%
Purchase Orders, 9%
PowerPoint, 9%
Expense Reports, 5%
SharePoint, 4%
Financial Reports, 4%

Project Assistant vs. similar jobs

Project Assistant related careers

Project Assistant related jobs

Project Assistant jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Project Assistant
Project Assistant vs Contract Administrative Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs