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The differences between staff assistants and administrative staff can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a staff assistant and an administrative staff. Additionally, an administrative staff has an average salary of $77,101, which is higher than the $41,778 average annual salary of a staff assistant.
The top three skills for a staff assistant include customer service, patients and data entry. The most important skills for an administrative staff are telephone calls, word processing, and travel arrangements.
| Staff Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Yearly salary | $41,778 | $77,101 |
| Hourly rate | $20.09 | $37.07 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 126,202 | 119,030 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A staff assistant is a company employee who is tasked to support and help staff members to adequately fill their roles and assuring that the organization is running efficiently. Working under an administrative supervisor, an assistant's tasks include answering phone calls, scheduling meetings or appointments, and booking the necessary travels. Moreover, an assistant should have excellent skills in written and verbal communication and is highly organized with minimal supervision. An assistant may be able to work in a wide variety of settings, which includes healthcare facilities and government offices.
As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll. They plan department weekly meetings, schedule conference calls, and work on solving administrative related concerns and issues. They do a complex task that involves multi-tasking from the preparation of department reports, analyzing data, and finding solutions. It is a requirement to be an experienced, collaborator, and trained cross-functional communicator. Moreover, other duties will include scheduling company-initiated activities, meetings, and events.
Staff assistants and administrative staff have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Average salary | $41,778 | $77,101 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $63,000 | Between $58,000 And $101,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bridgewater, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | Massasoit Community College | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a staff assistant and an administrative staff in terms of educational background:
| Staff Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between staff assistants' and administrative staff' demographics:
| Staff Assistant | Administrative Staff | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.4% Female, 70.6% | Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |