The Differential Pay Between an Administrative Assistant and a Receptionist
A receptionist and an administrative assistant have different duties — and different salaries. A receptionist answers the phone and greets people who walk into the office; an administrative assistant supports the management team by setting appointments, doing expense reports, and filing and retrieving important documents. Although these two types of employees might work in the same office, their duties seldom overlap. This is why the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics treats them as two different professions.
Other People Are Reading
-
Receptionist Salary
-
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, a receptionist may expect to earn a median wage of $26,260, as of May 2010 — this annual salary translates into $12.63 per hour. The top 10 percent earn $36,910, or $17.75 per hour; the bottom 10 percent earn $17,560 annually, which comes to $8.44 per hour. The bureau considers a receptionist to be distinct from an administrative assistant or secretary, based on the lower level of responsibility usually associated with the receptionist position.
Administrative Assistant Salary
-
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that administrative assistants earn $32,000 as a median wage, with an hourly equivalent of $15.38. The top 10 percent may expect a wage of $46,430, or $22.32 per hour; the bottom 10 percent earn $19,690, or $9.47 hourly. These figures don't include legal, medical or executive secretaries. The differences in wages within this field may be attributed to the profitability and prestige of the company for which the administrative assistant works, as well as the employee's experience and longevity with the company.
-
Percentage Difference
-
A receptionist may expect to make $5,740 more per year as an administrative assistant, based on the difference between the median wages of those two occupations — that equals a 21 percent increase in salary. Business offices pay this higher wage to administrative assistants because of the importance of the duties required for the position. The administrative assistant takes care of clerical tasks that would otherwise bog down a manager and keep him from fulfilling his duties. The receptionist position in an office is often looked upon as an entry-level role, which explains why the salary is lower for this position.
Overlap
-
The top 10 percent of receptionists earn more than the median salary for administrative assistants, indicating that years of experience and the receptionist's perceived value to the company may earn a receptionist higher wages than the middle percentile of administrative assistants. By the same token, the lowest 10 percent of administrative assistants earn less than the middle percentage of receptionists. In short, being an administrative assistant doesn't automatically guarantee better wages than a receptionist.
-
