By Karen Porter

Have you seen the title virtual assistant and wondered what is the difference between a virtual assistant and an administrative assistant or executive assistant? There is a difference. Let me explain further:

A virtual assistant is typically an independent contractor who provides administrative services to clients. Virtual assistant is often abbreviated as VA. Some of today’s VA’s may even go beyond administrative services to providing creative or technical services such as assisting with online social marketing activities or handling Web site/Blog updates and technical upkeep. Many VA’s work from home offices, while others may rent office space outside of their homes. Some VA’s may even work for other VA’s (i.e. freelance, subcontract work).

An administrative assistant, such as those served here by Virtual Association for Administrative Professionals (VAAP), works for an employer as an employee. Administrative assistants (and executive assistants, secretaries and so forth) may work on site at their employers’ offices or remotely such as from a regional office (or some other place away from the actual manager or executive they support). These administrative and executive assistants may even occasionally perform some of their work from home. But they are still employed.

Therefore in this sense, a remote assistant is one who works remotely — away from her employer’s office. A remote assistant is not a virtual assistant (though sure, a VA works away from his or her client’s office too and thus remotely too in a sense). But in the administrative/executive assistant world, remote assistant is just a phrase that means working away from the office or person you support (i.e. working remotely, working outside of the office environment, not based in the office).

Administrative assistants and executive assistants are not virtual assistants. Administrative and executive assistants are employed, receive salaries or wages (and hopefully benefits) and have taxes taken out of their paychecks. In contrast, virtual assistants own and work for their businesses or freelance for other VA’s and thus are self-employed and pay their own taxes out of their revenue received from doing work for clients or customers.

I guess you also could say administrative assistants have jobs and virtual assistants get jobs. While they both perform many of the same administrative duties, administrative and executive assistants have employers, and virtual assistants are business owners. Now after reading this, a lot of administrative assistants are going to think (based on my experience and observation), “That sounds fantastic. You mean I can perform the same administrative work I do now except without an actual boss, on my time, from my home in my pajamas, and charge exactly what I think I’m worth?”

So maybe you’re thinking that but not in those same words. I don’t want to go into the details of VA work in this article, but I want to caution you not to quit your administrative job yet and not to prepare to put up your VA signage. There are pros and cons to being employed as an administrative assistant on site by employers and being a self-employed virtual assistant. While those statements above are true about being a virtual assistant, being a VA isn’t for everyone. There is more to becoming a VA and doing the job of a VA than that, and I will explain sometime in a separate article. Meanwhile, this article is just to explain to those who come to the Virtual Association for Administrative Professionals Web site that the “virtual” doesn’t mean virtual assistant and what is the technical difference between a virtual assistant and administrative assistant.