Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between activity assistants and field assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an activity assistant and a field assistant. Additionally, a field assistant has an average salary of $33,354, which is higher than the $29,611 average annual salary of an activity assistant.
The top three skills for an activity assistant include patients, home health and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a field assistant are customer service, payroll, and newspapers.
| Activity Assistant | Field Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $29,611 | $33,354 |
| Hourly rate | $14.24 | $16.04 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 25,038 | 59,751 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Activity assistants are the ones who organize and execute activities in different settings, including recreation centers, camps, cruise ships, and retirement or nursing homes. They design programs to encourage physical activity, increase socialization, deliver continuing education, and provide entertainment. They are also the ones who handle logistics, select and demonstrate activities, maintain proper equipment, and ensure the safety of participants. They can work full-time, part-time, or seasonally in different settings depending on the kind of clients that they cater to.
The duties of a field assistant depend on one's line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing support tasks such as preparing documentation and presentations, recording data and updating information systems, managing schedules, attending meetings, and performing research and analysis. There are also instances where a field assistant must visit job sites to conduct observation or to gather samples, coordinate with other staff, handle calls and correspondence, and run errands as needed.
Activity assistants and field assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Activity Assistant | Field Assistant | |
| Average salary | $29,611 | $33,354 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $24,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Chicago, IL |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Illinois |
| Best paying company | Smithsonian Institution | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | - | Agriculture |
There are a few differences between an activity assistant and a field assistant in terms of educational background:
| Activity Assistant | Field Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Biology |
| Most common college | California State University - Fullerton | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between activity assistants' and field assistants' demographics:
| Activity Assistant | Field Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 16.8% Female, 83.2% | Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.0% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |