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Para professional vs educational assistant

The differences between para professionals and educational assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an educational assistant has an average salary of $31,100, which is higher than the $28,118 average annual salary of a para professional.

The top three skills for a para professional include para-professional, mathematics and IEP. The most important skills for an educational assistant are CPR, IEP, and direct supervision.

Para professional vs educational assistant overview

Para ProfessionalEducational Assistant
Yearly salary$28,118$31,100
Hourly rate$13.52$14.95
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs90,68949,979
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

Para professional vs educational assistant salary

Para professionals and educational assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Para ProfessionalEducational Assistant
Average salary$28,118$31,100
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $38,000Between $20,000 And $47,000
Highest paying CityGlen Cove, NYNew York, NY
Highest paying stateRhode IslandRhode Island
Best paying companySchneider Electric Industrial ServicesColumbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industryEducationNon Profits

Differences between para professional and educational assistant education

There are a few differences between a para professional and an educational assistant in terms of educational background:

Para ProfessionalEducational Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Para professional vs educational assistant demographics

Here are the differences between para professionals' and educational assistants' demographics:

Para ProfessionalEducational Assistant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 24.7% Female, 75.3%Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%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%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between para professional and educational assistant duties and responsibilities

Para professional example responsibilities.

  • Train and manage kindergarten classroom and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
  • Perform responsible human support and paraprofessional work assisting classroom teacher or other professionals, achieve institution objectives.
  • Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) design to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.
  • Obtain CPI certification through the school district.
  • Follow ABA procedure by redirecting students when behavior occurs.
  • Implement learning and ABA programs as written and instruct by the BCBA.
  • Show more

Educational assistant example responsibilities.

  • Perform responsible human support and paraprofessional work assisting classroom teacher or other professionals, achieve institution objectives.
  • Perform basic administrative tasks like photocopying student work displays etc.
  • Support class teachers in photocopying and other tasks in order to support teaching.
  • Used CPI blocks, restraints, and escorts when necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff.
  • Serve special needs Pre-K students in a PPCD classroom, under the direction of a certify classroom teacher.
  • Provide assistance to non-English speaking students
  • Show more

Para professional vs educational assistant skills

Common para professional skills
  • Para-Professional, 19%
  • Mathematics, 10%
  • IEP, 7%
  • Kindergarten, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Crisis Intervention, 4%
Common educational assistant skills
  • CPR, 12%
  • IEP, 7%
  • Direct Supervision, 6%
  • Behavioral Issues, 6%
  • Clerical Support, 6%
  • Autism, 6%

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