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The differences between certified nursing assistants and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a certified nursing assistant, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assistant has an average salary of $37,363, which is higher than the $32,597 average annual salary of a certified nursing assistant.
The top three skills for a certified nursing assistant include patients, vital signs and home health. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Certified Nursing Assistant | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $32,597 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $15.67 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 9% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 225,834 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.12 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 2 |
A certified nursing assistant generally assists patients in their healthcare needs and medical procedures. They support patients in their daily activities by monitoring patients' temperature and food intake, ensuring the cleanliness of the patient's room, and keeping documentation of patients' conditions for reference of nurses and doctors. A certified nursing assistant should also communicate with patients' families and provide updates as often as needed. It is also important that a nursing assistant is patient and compassionate enough to attend to direct patient needs, which could get demanding or challenging at times.
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.
Certified nursing assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Nursing Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $32,597 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $42,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Valley Presbyterian Hospital | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Education |
There are a few differences between a certified nursing assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Certified Nursing Assistant | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between certified nursing assistants' and assistants' demographics:
| Certified Nursing Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |