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The differences between lead assistants and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a lead assistant, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assistant has an average salary of $37,363, which is higher than the $31,987 average annual salary of a lead assistant.
The top three skills for a lead assistant include customer service, sales floor and payroll. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Lead Assistant | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,987 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $15.38 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 12% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 86,609 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A lead assistant is responsible for monitoring the operations of a specific business department, under the supervision of a team lead. Lead assistants provide support on training new staff, implementing strategic policies, identifying business opportunities, and developing services that would bring more revenues and profitability for the organization. They also respond to customers' inquiries, handling complaints, and ensuring immediate resolution for all concerns to maintain customers' satisfaction and a good reputation for the business. A lead assistant must have excellent communication and leadership skills to manage the team's needs, meeting operational goals timely and efficiently.
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Lead assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,987 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $46,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between a lead assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Lead Assistant | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between lead assistants' and assistants' demographics:
| Lead Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |