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Community service volunteer vs program assistant

The differences between community service volunteers 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 service volunteer and a program assistant. Additionally, a program assistant has an average salary of $35,193, which is higher than the $26,775 average annual salary of a community service volunteer.

The top three skills for a community service volunteer include community outreach, child care and mathematics. The most important skills for a program assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Community service volunteer vs program assistant overview

Community Service VolunteerProgram Assistant
Yearly salary$26,775$35,193
Hourly rate$12.87$16.92
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs19,38996,901
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4343
Years of experience1212

What does a community service volunteer do?

A community service volunteer is responsible for engaging and assisting in community service events, learning the society's norms, helping to enhance the citizens' lives, building relationships, and understanding the status of the community. A community service volunteer supports various activities of different purpose, coordinates with nonprofit organizations to request funding and donation programs, and identifies additional resources to provide the needs of the citizens. Community service volunteers must have excellent communication and organizational skills to perform their societal responsibilities.

What does a program assistant do?

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 service volunteer vs program assistant salary

Community service volunteers and program assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Community Service VolunteerProgram Assistant
Average salary$26,775$35,193
Salary rangeBetween $22,000 And $32,000Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Connecticut
Best paying company-The Aspen Institute
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between community service volunteer and program assistant education

There are a few differences between a community service volunteer and a program assistant in terms of educational background:

Community Service VolunteerProgram Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaNorthwestern University

Community service volunteer vs program assistant demographics

Here are the differences between community service volunteers' and program assistants' demographics:

Community Service VolunteerProgram Assistant
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 38.5% Female, 61.5%Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 6.7% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between community service volunteer and program assistant duties and responsibilities

Community service volunteer example responsibilities.

  • Lead bible study for 5th and 6th grade girls every Friday morning before school
  • Manage day-to-day operations including contract management, accounts payable, receivables, payroll and general administrative assistance.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with the alumni, staff, faculty, student body and vendors.
  • Coordinate and help teach adult ESL classes.
  • Establish a bi-weekly ESL conversation group for foreign students.
  • Tutor students in mathematics, reading, grammar, and social studies.
  • Show more

Program assistant example responsibilities.

  • Lead classes in anatomy/physiology, medical terminology, transcription.
  • Manage oversight of budget/finance, personnel and continuous program improvement.
  • Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.
  • Instruct students in C++ and Java programming, robot design and construction.
  • Introduce students to various computer pro- gramming languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
  • Present information about RSVP to community organizations.
  • Show more

Community service volunteer vs program assistant skills

Common community service volunteer skills
  • Community Outreach, 18%
  • Child Care, 9%
  • Mathematics, 7%
  • Local Community, 6%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Community Health, 5%
Common program assistant skills
  • Patients, 12%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Data Entry, 8%
  • HR, 6%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
  • Data Collection, 4%

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