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The differences between school secretaries and office 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 school secretary and an office assistant. Additionally, a school secretary has an average salary of $35,126, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.
The top three skills for a school secretary include word processing, payroll and math. The most important skills for an office assistant are data entry, patients, and customer service.
| School Secretary | Office Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,126 | $31,517 |
| Hourly rate | $16.89 | $15.15 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 75,656 | 103,293 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A school secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the school's operations and helping the management to develop strategies and techniques to ensure that the students receive the highest quality of learning. School secretaries manage the data management system of the institution, record students' and staff information, and assist with payroll release. They also serve as a liaison between the staff, students, and the management for any inquiries, concerns, and complaints.
Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.
School secretaries and office assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| School Secretary | Office Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,126 | $31,517 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $49,000 | Between $24,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 | Analysis Group |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a school secretary and an office assistant in terms of educational background:
| School Secretary | Office Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between school secretaries' and office assistants' demographics:
| School Secretary | Office Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 5.8% Female, 94.2% | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |