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The differences between loan assistants and loan officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a loan assistant, becoming a loan officer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a loan officer has an average salary of $45,817, which is higher than the $36,962 average annual salary of a loan assistant.
The top three skills for a loan assistant include customer service, loan applications and mortgage loans. The most important skills for a loan officer are customer service, origination, and loan origination.
| Loan Assistant | Loan Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $36,962 | $45,817 |
| Hourly rate | $17.77 | $22.03 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 8,923 | 63,663 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Loan assistants act as support primarily to loan officers in preparing, reviewing, and verifying account documentation pertinent to loans. Also, ensuring the completeness of the loan files and that all collateral has been properly secured. In addition, loan assistants update collateral values on commercial and residential real estate loans as assigned by senior management. They stay within the guidelines established by bank policy and maintain the highest level of confidentiality with all information obtained.
Loan officers are responsible for assisting borrowers on the best type of loans to avail and guiding the clients throughout the application process. A loan officer must be highly knowledgeable about different lending products, payment plans, loan regulations, and essential files for fast loan approval. Loan officers also act as the first point of contact, conducting an initial screening of the customers, process loan contracts and appropriate documentation, update account records, and respond to customer's inquiries. A loan officer also has the right to reject loan applicants who do not meet loan qualifications.
Loan assistants and loan officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Loan Assistant | Loan Officer | |
| Average salary | $36,962 | $45,817 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $30,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Bangor Savings Bank |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a loan assistant and a loan officer in terms of educational background:
| Loan Assistant | Loan Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between loan assistants' and loan officers' demographics:
| Loan Assistant | Loan Officer | |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8% | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.4% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |