The Difference a Name Can Make: Salary Differences for Administrative Professionals

On April 25, administrative professionals will receive flowers, lunches and cards in celebration of Administrative Professionals Day. In a typical year, administrative assistants earn $35,295 on average, while secretaries earn $30,165 according to the Compensation Data annual survey of more than 5,300 employers. These numbers have changed little since 2004, increasing by 5.7 percent for administrative assistants and 5.2 percent for secretaries.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the workforce is comprised of approximately 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants. While many still use the titles administrative assistant and secretary interchangeably, their pay widely differs. Due to their increased responsibilities, administrative assistants earned 17 percent more than secretaries in 2006. The same has been true since 2004 when there was a difference of 16.4 percent between the two.

Executive assistants earn more than their administrative counterparts with an average salary of $48,243. Thatís 36 percent more than the average salary for administrative assistants, since this position requires a bachelorís degree and three to five years of experience.

Administrative Professionals Day
Since 1952, organizations have been celebrating Administrative Professionals Day on the Wednesday of the last full week in April. Originally called Secretaryís Day, this holiday was created by Harry F. Klemfuss to encourage more women to become secretaries. Over the years, the variety of tasks and technical skills required has changed greatly.

About the Survey
Compensation Data 2006 contains data on 532 job titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Information was collected on more than 6.3 million employees across the country. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefits information and pay practices with an effective date of March 1, 2006.