Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between secretaries and executive assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a secretary, becoming an executive assistant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an executive assistant has an average salary of $50,539, which is higher than the $36,442 average annual salary of a secretary.
The top three skills for a secretary include customer service, telephone calls and payroll. The most important skills for an executive assistant are powerpoint, customer service, and phone calls.
| Secretary | Executive Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $36,442 | $50,539 |
| Hourly rate | $17.52 | $24.30 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 69,315 | 93,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department. They manage schedules and appointments, often handling the calendar in the office. They are also responsible for keeping files organized, whether physical or digital copies. During office meetings, secretaries are in charge of documenting the minutes of the meeting and highlighting the action steps that need to be taken. They may also be assigned to check on concerned departments who need to present deliverables in the next office meeting.
Executive assistants are employees who are assigned to work under the supervision of company executives. They manage the activities of the executives they are assigned to by manning the executive's calendar, scheduling appointments, setting meetings, ensuring that the executives are familiar with their schedule for the day, and taking note of any deliverable that may be needed. They are also responsible for taking care of any document or paperwork that the executive needs, as well as preparing presentation materials or briefers for meetings. Executive assistants are also usually exposed to actual company operations to further understand how the business works and to be of better help to the executive.
Secretaries and executive assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Secretary | Executive Assistant | |
| Average salary | $36,442 | $50,539 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $51,000 | Between $35,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between a secretary and an executive assistant in terms of educational background:
| Secretary | Executive Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between secretaries' and executive assistants' demographics:
| Secretary | Executive Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.1% Female, 89.9% | Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 3.9% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |