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The differences between educational assistants and special education instructional assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a special education instructional assistant has an average salary of $32,025, which is higher than the $31,100 average annual salary of an educational assistant.
The top three skills for an educational assistant include CPR, IEP and direct supervision. The most important skills for a special education instructional assistant are CPR, instructional materials, and autism.
| Educational Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,100 | $32,025 |
| Hourly rate | $14.95 | $15.40 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 49,979 | 60,974 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An educational assistant, or often called teaching assistant, assists teachers in instruction delivery and provides learning support to students. Educational assistants may perform classroom duties such as class preparations, taking attendance, and paperwork management. They help students by reviewing materials presented by teachers through one-on-one tutoring or in small groups. They may also supervise and monitor the educational activities of children, such as playing and other primary care. Educational Assistants can work in elementary, middle, and high schools while others work in preschools and childcare centers.
Special education instructional assistant does work under the supervision of the principal and other administrative workers, especially in school and college. They prepare the material aids which are helping to teach in the classroom. Moreover, they are more inclined upon the progress of students. Conducting the exams, preparing the notes, preparing the result and giving the instruction to the students about their life career and course books etc are the main duties of the special education instructional assistant. They preach, instruct, command and come up with the idea about making the school environment more friendly and viable.
Educational assistants and special education instructional assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Educational Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,100 | $32,025 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $47,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Columbia University in the City of New York | Goleta Union School District |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Education |
There are a few differences between an educational assistant and a special education instructional assistant in terms of educational background:
| Educational Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between educational assistants' and special education instructional assistants' demographics:
| Educational Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8% | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 8.1% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |