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Departmental assistant vs staff assistant

The differences between departmental assistants and staff 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 departmental assistant and a staff assistant. Additionally, a staff assistant has an average salary of $41,778, which is higher than the $39,690 average annual salary of a departmental assistant.

The top three skills for a departmental assistant include HR, chemistry and data analysis. The most important skills for a staff assistant are customer service, patients, and data entry.

Departmental assistant vs staff assistant overview

Departmental AssistantStaff Assistant
Yearly salary$39,690$41,778
Hourly rate$19.08$20.09
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs34,480126,202
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age5050
Years of experience22

Departmental assistant vs staff assistant salary

Departmental assistants and staff assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Departmental AssistantStaff Assistant
Average salary$39,690$41,778
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $55,000Between $27,000 And $63,000
Highest paying CitySanta Barbara, CABridgewater, MA
Highest paying stateHawaiiConnecticut
Best paying companyUniversity of Massachusetts BostonMassasoit Community College
Best paying industryManufacturingProfessional

Differences between departmental assistant and staff assistant education

There are a few differences between a departmental assistant and a staff assistant in terms of educational background:

Departmental AssistantStaff Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityWestern Carolina University

Departmental assistant vs staff assistant demographics

Here are the differences between departmental assistants' and staff assistants' demographics:

Departmental AssistantStaff Assistant
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 29.5% Female, 70.5%Male, 29.4% Female, 70.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between departmental assistant and staff assistant duties and responsibilities

Departmental assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage and develop the daily clinical schedule for the in-patient rehabilitation staff taking into consideration Medicare guidelines and staffing ratios.
  • Input appointments into HRIS (HCM- PeopleSoft) and maintain all HRIS records; process student and limit payroll in
  • Attend various meetings, take dictation, write up and distribute minutes.
  • Process employee time and payroll - records, adjustments, travel and other reimbursable payments.
  • Create and curate social media presence of the department on Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr.
  • Tutor primarily engineering students in the subjects of engineering, physics, math, chemistry, and biology.
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Staff assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage, troubleshoot, install and resolve hardware, software configurations, and network relate issues.
  • Manage candidate Facebook page and facilitate other advertising.
  • Manage fireworks inventory through QuickBooks and process customer wholesale orders.
  • Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
  • Conduct weekly groups for newly refer veterans and potential landlords on the HUD VASH searching process.
  • Supervise the daily operations, office work and customer service in a windows replacement company).
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Departmental assistant vs staff assistant skills

Common departmental assistant skills
  • HR, 20%
  • Chemistry, 19%
  • Data Analysis, 12%
  • Word Processing, 9%
  • Routine Correspondence, 6%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 4%
Common staff assistant skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Patients, 10%
  • Data Entry, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 5%
  • Office Procedures, 5%
  • Veterans, 4%

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