Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between educational aids and instructional assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an instructional assistant has an average salary of $32,170, which is higher than the $29,988 average annual salary of an educational aid.
The top three skills for an educational aid include behavior management, CPR and instructional materials. The most important skills for an instructional assistant are CPR, math, and instructional materials.
| Educational Aid | Instructional Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $29,988 | $32,170 |
| Hourly rate | $14.42 | $15.47 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 71,043 | 50,185 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An educational aide is needed to thoroughly manage and assess children's development and learning. They help teachers monitor students' development and class standing. They provide hands-on tutoring to children in need of additional study courses. They also help teachers develop lesson plans, assist with distributing handouts, and collect homework. They can act as teachers when the lead teacher is absent. To make learning lively, they help in room beautification and cleanliness.
An instructional assistant's role is to assist teachers and faculty members by performing various tasks. Their responsibilities will involve managing and monitoring the classroom environment, crafting visual aids and informative presentations, preparing laboratories and equipment, grading papers, recording data, and organizing schedules. An instructional assistant may also teach short courses when a teacher is not around, and provide tutorial sessions to small groups. Furthermore, they may also perform administrative tasks such as producing progress reports and necessary documentation, taking attendance, and responding to calls and correspondence.
Educational aids and instructional assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Educational Aid | Instructional Assistant | |
| Average salary | $29,988 | $32,170 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $23,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fairfield, CA | Salem, OR |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Point Loma Nazarene University | Kern Community College District |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between an educational aid and an instructional assistant in terms of educational background:
| Educational Aid | Instructional Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | Duke University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between educational aids' and instructional assistants' demographics:
| Educational Aid | Instructional Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.0% Female, 77.0% | Male, 27.3% Female, 72.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.2% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |