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The differences between office assistants and personal assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an office assistant and a personal assistant. Additionally, a personal assistant has an average salary of $40,026, which is higher than the $31,517 average annual salary of an office assistant.
The top three skills for an office assistant include data entry, patients and customer service. The most important skills for a personal assistant are run errands, companionship, and scheduling appointments.
| Office Assistant | Personal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $31,517 | $40,026 |
| Hourly rate | $15.15 | $19.24 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 103,293 | 21,638 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 47 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Office assistants perform various tasks to ensure that the business runs organized and efficient. An office assistant must possess excellent communication and multi-tasking skills to handle essential duties such as scheduling meetings, monitoring office supplies, storing documents and necessary paperwork, handling customer inquiries and appointments, coordinating in company events, and accomplishing other clerical tasks and administrative support. Office assistants are also required to communicate any observation that would possibly make an impact on the company's performance.
Personal assistants are employees working for individuals who need help in managing their personal affairs. Personal assistants manage the daily activities of their employers. They are in charge of managing their employer's schedules and appointments, often coordinating their meetings and orienting them on their schedule at the start of the day. They also arrange travel needs, from looking for travel tickets to booking accommodations. When they have built enough trust with their employer, they are entrusted to also manage personal financial accounts and are often given access to other confidential information related to the employer.
Office assistants and personal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Assistant | Personal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $31,517 | $40,026 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $41,000 | Between $26,000 And $60,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Vermont | New York |
| Best paying company | Analysis Group | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | Government | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between an office assistant and a personal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Office Assistant | Personal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between office assistants' and personal assistants' demographics:
| Office Assistant | Personal Assistant | |
| Average age | 47 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 7.4% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 12% |