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The differences between purchasing administrative assistants and virtual 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 purchasing administrative assistant and a virtual assistant. Additionally, a virtual assistant has an average salary of $39,915, which is higher than the $37,889 average annual salary of a purchasing administrative assistant.
The top three skills for a purchasing administrative assistant include purchase orders, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for a virtual assistant are data entry, customer service, and email management.
| Purchasing Administrative Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,889 | $39,915 |
| Hourly rate | $18.22 | $19.19 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 48,872 | 49,508 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Purchasing Administrative Assistants will require a high school diploma or GED, but an associate degree or higher is preferred, as well as three or more years in a purchasing role. This career will require skills in communication and negotiation, as well as a proven history of good supply management and the ability to create and administer task priority lists based on the needs of the respective company. Paying an average salary of $42K per year, but ranging between $37K and $49K, this career choice will demand the provision of support to the purchasing process and department staff, processing documents and materials and responding to inquiries, as well as maintaining information and inventories about vendors and sources.
Virtual Assistants are remote workers who work with clients that need assistance. They usually do administrative or clerical activities such as managing soft copies of a document, writing e-mail correspondences, managing calendars, scheduling appointments, and other activities. They manage the e-mail of their clients and respond to inquiries and other messages. They also manage phone calls by answering calls, taking messages, and dialing for their clients. Virtual Assistants may also be asked to handle travel-related tasks of their clients, such as creating itineraries, booking flights, and booking hotels.
Purchasing administrative assistants and virtual assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Purchasing Administrative Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,889 | $39,915 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $48,000 | Between $29,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milpitas, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Aspen Snowmass | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Professional |
There are a few differences between a purchasing administrative assistant and a virtual assistant in terms of educational background:
| Purchasing Administrative Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between purchasing administrative assistants' and virtual assistants' demographics:
| Purchasing Administrative Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7% | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |