Para professional vs substitute paraprofessional

The differences between para professionals and substitute paraprofessionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a substitute paraprofessional has an average salary of $28,914, 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 a substitute paraprofessional are instructional support, math, and classroom environment.

Para professional vs substitute paraprofessional overview

	Para Professional	Substitute Paraprofessional
Yearly salary	$28,118	$28,914
Hourly rate	$13.52	$13.90
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	90,689	46,060
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

Para professional vs substitute paraprofessional salary

Para professionals and substitute paraprofessionals have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Para Professional	Substitute Paraprofessional
Average salary	$28,118	$28,914
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $38,000	Between $23,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	Glen Cove, NY	Pacifica, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Washington
Best paying company	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	Boston Public Schools
Best paying industry	Education	Government

Differences between para professional and substitute paraprofessional education

There are a few differences between a para professional and a substitute paraprofessional in terms of educational background:

	Para Professional	Substitute Paraprofessional
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Para professional vs substitute paraprofessional demographics

Here are the differences between para professionals' and substitute paraprofessionals' demographics:

	Para Professional	Substitute Paraprofessional
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 24.7% Female, 75.3%	Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6%
Race ratio	Black 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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.2% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between para professional and substitute paraprofessional 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.

Substitute paraprofessional example responsibilities.

Obtain finger print clearance card, CPR and first aid certify.
Help students with strategies to assist them with studying, reading and math.
Assist teachers with math, literacy and science centers and chaperone field trips.
Assist in a variety of classrooms throughout the district with children who qualify for para support
Provide care for kids in grades k-12 in a fun, safe environment after school.
Assist students with reinforcement activities in areas such reading, mathematics and language arts, etc.

Para professional vs substitute paraprofessional skills

Common para professional skills

Para-Professional, 19%
Mathematics, 10%
IEP, 7%
Kindergarten, 6%
CPR, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 4%

Common substitute paraprofessional skills

Instructional Support, 15%
Math, 9%
Classroom Environment, 9%
Mathematics, 8%
Classroom Management, 7%
Para, 7%

Para Professional vs. similar jobs

Para Professional related careers

Para Professional related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Education, Training, and Library Industry
Para Professional
Para Professional vs Substitute Paraprofessional

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse education, training, and library jobs