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The differences between community living assistants and program assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a community living assistant and a program assistant. Additionally, a program assistant has an average salary of $35,193, which is higher than the $30,317 average annual salary of a community living assistant.
The top three skills for a community living assistant include medication reminders, quality care and patients. The most important skills for a program assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.
| Community Living Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,317 | $35,193 |
| Hourly rate | $14.58 | $16.92 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 72,067 | 96,901 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Community living assistants provide fundamental health care and assist patients with daily living activities. They apply practical intervention procedures for behavioral issues as well. It is their job to lessen discomfort and preserve patient dignity while performing duties like bathing. Also, they support housing administration through equipment maintenance, staff contractors, and expense monitoring.
Program assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees assigned to a department that handles a specific program in the organization. They assist the team they are assigned to in the implementation of the programs. They usually take care of administrative or clerical activities while also getting exposure to actual program management. Program assistants get trained to handle agendas from inception, to sourcing, to implementation, to evaluation. They may also handle documentary support for business cases or other presentation materials that the team may need for a specific part of the program management cycle.
Community living assistants and program assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Living Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,317 | $35,193 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $41,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | West Windsor, NJ | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | American Senior Benefits | The Aspen Institute |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Government |
There are a few differences between a community living assistant and a program assistant in terms of educational background:
| Community Living Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | University of Virginia | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between community living assistants' and program assistants' demographics:
| Community Living Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0% | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.0% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |