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The differences between college assistants and department assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a college assistant and a department assistant. Additionally, a department assistant has an average salary of $40,698, which is higher than the $29,899 average annual salary of a college assistant.
The top three skills for a college assistant include cleanliness, english language and customer service. The most important skills for a department assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.
| College Assistant | Department Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $29,899 | $40,698 |
| Hourly rate | $14.37 | $19.57 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 41,273 | 88,268 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A college assistant is responsible for administrative, clerical, and research work in educational institutions. Your day-to-day duties may vary but typically include answering telephone calls, maintaining records such as rosters and inventory control records, and ordering office supplies and equipment. In addition, you will be responsible for assisting in research activities by collecting and compiling data, performing data entry, and preparing reports. Other duties include providing assistance in instructional programs, processing expenses, and purchasing reports, and advertising various events through social media.
A department assistant is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support and ensure the smooth operations of an entire department. Department assistants manage meeting calendars, book travel appointments, assist with company events, respond to clients' inquiries and requests through phone calls or personal visits, update customer records, organize electronic files, create business proposals, and monitor supplies. A department assistant must have excellent organizational and communication skills, as well as the ability to multitask under minimal supervision.
College assistants and department assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| College Assistant | Department Assistant | |
| Average salary | $29,899 | $40,698 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $38,000 | Between $24,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | New Haven, CT | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Dorsey & Whitney |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a college assistant and a department assistant in terms of educational background:
| College Assistant | Department Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between college assistants' and department assistants' demographics:
| College Assistant | Department Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9% | Male, 34.0% Female, 66.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |