Secretarial substitute vs assistant secretary

The differences between secretarial substitutes 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 secretarial substitute and an assistant secretary. Additionally, an assistant secretary has an average salary of $107,366, which is higher than the $29,860 average annual salary of a secretarial substitute.

The top three skills for a secretarial substitute include office equipment, word processing and telephone calls. The most important skills for an assistant secretary are telephone calls, payroll, and scheduling appointments.

Secretarial substitute vs assistant secretary overview

	Secretarial Substitute	Assistant Secretary
Yearly salary	$29,860	$107,366
Hourly rate	$14.36	$51.62
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	6,810	52,165
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

Secretarial substitute vs assistant secretary salary

Secretarial substitutes and assistant secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Secretarial Substitute	Assistant Secretary
Average salary	$29,860	$107,366
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $38,000	Between $38,000 And $302,000
Highest paying City	Vallejo, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES	Elanco
Best paying industry	Insurance	-

Differences between secretarial substitute and assistant secretary education

There are a few differences between a secretarial substitute and an assistant secretary in terms of educational background:

	Secretarial Substitute	Assistant Secretary
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Secretarial substitute vs assistant secretary demographics

Here are the differences between secretarial substitutes' and assistant secretaries' demographics:

	Secretarial Substitute	Assistant Secretary
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 4.5% Female, 95.5%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 4.3% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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	6%	6%

Differences between secretarial substitute and assistant secretary duties and responsibilities

Secretarial substitute example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Correspond with PTO members and families.
Organize events, meetings for PTO.
Process payroll and organize leave forms by pay period.
Perform a wide variety of clerical duties including: typing, proofreading, filing and recording information.
Perform data entry in various offices including, but not limit to, payroll and tax offices.

Assistant secretary example responsibilities.

Manage and oversee all STO relate actions task to OSD impacting future and current operations in STO.
Assist main accountant with extra jobs and are trained in QuickBooks.
Proofread, edit & type legal briefs, business letters, case notes.
Book keeping, answer phone calls, run errands and handle billing using Quickbooks.
Assist in contacting and informing the parents of upcoming graduates about alumni programs and donations.
Serve as first point of contact for students, faculty, and alumni calling or visiting the main administrative office.

Secretarial substitute vs assistant secretary skills

Common secretarial substitute skills

Office Equipment, 21%
Word Processing, 14%
Telephone Calls, 13%
Proofreading, 9%
Payroll, 5%
Office Machines, 5%

Common assistant secretary skills

Telephone Calls, 13%
Payroll, 9%
Scheduling Appointments, 9%
Financial Statements, 9%
Office Equipment, 7%
Computer System, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Secretarial Substitute
Secretarial Substitute vs Assistant Secretary

Updated January 8, 2025

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