Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping vs Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive: $51K vs $48K Median Pay

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping vs Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive: what changes?

Consider Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping if you want to compile and keep personnel records. Consider Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive if you would rather perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers. Entry credentials differ: Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping, associate's degree; Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, high school diploma or equivalent.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping and Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping

National median pay (2025): $50,610
Route into the job: Associate's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 7,900

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 6.2% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping brief

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

National median pay (2025): $47,540
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 163,900

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive brief

How the national numbers differ

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive has the edge on annual openings

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive is at 163,900 annual openings, compared with 7,900 annual openings for Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping.

Typical preparation differs.

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping: Associate's degree Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping has the edge on median pay

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping is at $50,610, compared with $47,540 for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive.

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive has the edge on projected growth

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive is at -6% projected growth, compared with -6.2% projected growth for Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping.

38.2/ 100

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping

51.1/ 100

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping vs Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

Dimension	Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
Median pay (2025)	$50,610	$47,540
Pay percentile	34.1 percentile	24.8 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-6.2%	-6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	7,900	163,900
2025 employment	96,500	1,889,800
How you qualify	Associate's degree	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 3	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping brief Read Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive brief

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping vs Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

How the national numbers differ

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping has the edge on median pay

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive has the edge on projected growth

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping vs Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

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