Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between learning 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 $28,576 average annual salary of a learning assistant.
The top three skills for a learning assistant include mathematics, math and student learning. The most important skills for a special education instructional assistant are CPR, instructional materials, and autism.
| Learning Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $28,576 | $32,025 |
| Hourly rate | $13.74 | $15.40 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 14,674 | 60,974 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A learning assistant is often also known as a student assistant who is tasked with different school divisions. They are responsible for preparing and writing weekly accomplishment reports, taking down notes in a training program or meeting, as well as managing discussions and interacting with students and school officials if there are other activities to be done. Meaning, this career is for someone who has a sufficient communication skill, research-oriented and actively participates in a lot of discussions.
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.
Learning assistants and special education instructional assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Learning Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Average salary | $28,576 | $32,025 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $38,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cambridge, MA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Goleta Union School District | |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a learning assistant and a special education instructional assistant in terms of educational background:
| Learning Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between learning assistants' and special education instructional assistants' demographics:
| Learning Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.9% Female, 58.1% | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.3% 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% |