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Assistant vs project assistant

The differences between assistants and project assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an assistant and a project assistant. Additionally, a project assistant has an average salary of $38,564, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.

The top three skills for an assistant include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a project assistant are data entry, powerpoint, and customer service.

Assistant vs project assistant overview

AssistantProject Assistant
Yearly salary$37,363$38,564
Hourly rate$17.96$18.54
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs557,90059,664
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age5050
Years of experience22

What does an assistant do?

An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.

What does a project assistant do?

A project assistant's role mainly revolves around assisting a project manager. The responsibilities may vary upon the industry or organization. Still, most of them will be administrative tasks such as preparing reports and documentation, responding to calls and other forms of correspondence, and coordinating with various offices and personnel. Furthermore, a Project Assistant must also ensure the department's efficient workflow, proper utilization of budget, review documentation and schedules, attend meetings, and maintain an information database.

Assistant vs project assistant salary

Assistants and project assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

AssistantProject Assistant
Average salary$37,363$38,564
Salary rangeBetween $16,000 And $82,000Between $25,000 And $57,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MAPortland, OR
Highest paying stateMassachusettsOregon
Best paying companyLatham & WatkinsAstraZeneca
Best paying industryEducationTechnology

Differences between assistant and project assistant education

There are a few differences between an assistant and a project assistant in terms of educational background:

AssistantProject Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityWestern Carolina University

Assistant vs project assistant demographics

Here are the differences between assistants' and project assistants' demographics:

AssistantProject Assistant
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 40.7% Female, 59.3%Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between assistant and project assistant duties and responsibilities

Assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage circulations, including educational textbooks and DVDS, video technology and supplies.
  • Manage branches providing information technology support, logistics, training and operational support.
  • Manage company's twitter account and communicate with multiple physical therapy providers around the country
  • Optimize productivity in prioritizing and managing special projects, PowerPoint presentations for classes, and proctore exams for undergraduate classes.
  • Assist in jewelry design and assembly, manage company Facebook page, participate in wholesale buying, and manage retail inventory
  • Manage and update company Facebook page with daily updates, finding/sharing relevant and interesting information, and encouraging fan engagement.
  • Show more

Project assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage SharePoint document repository and ensure that project managers comply with PMO policies.
  • Manage facilities by coordinating relocation of departments by using the facilities management database and VISIO.
  • Compose and balance departmental grants, tabulate and process payroll distribution, manage and maintain office routine during supervisor's absence.
  • Manage QA budget for assign projects by identifying actual and potential budget over-runs and under-runs, develop and monitor project/program plans.
  • Create a useful project tracking tool call JIRA.
  • Communicate with donors via phone, email, and twitter.
  • Show more

Assistant vs project assistant skills

Common assistant skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • Patient Care, 8%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Sales Floor, 5%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 3%
Common project assistant skills
  • Data Entry, 11%
  • PowerPoint, 8%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Meeting Minutes, 4%
  • Data Collection, 4%

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