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The differences between personal advocates and volunteers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a personal advocate and a volunteer. Additionally, a personal advocate has an average salary of $36,577, which is higher than the $31,227 average annual salary of a volunteer.
The top three skills for a personal advocate include mental health, inbound calls and social work. The most important skills for a volunteer are child care, patient charts, and patient care.
| Personal Advocate | Volunteer | |
| Yearly salary | $36,577 | $31,227 |
| Hourly rate | $17.59 | $15.01 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 70,768 | 9,583 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Personal advocates must have skills in communication, collaboration, and presentation. They also need a bachelor's or associate's degree in a health-related discipline, and their salary may range from $55K to over $100K per year depending on their degree. Personal advocates encourage and facilitate customer choices and support these choices in order to promote independence and personal growth.
Volunteers are usually unpaid individuals who render their service to a company or organization. Most of the time, volunteers are skilled in specific areas needed by the organization but prefer to provide free service. They may be employed in another organization, but they lend their time and talent to another organization or company to give back to the community. They raise funds, create awareness, and work on the ground. Volunteers usually choose a cause or advocacy close to their heart, such as teaching children, taking care of the elderly, coaching sports teams, cleaning up communities, and caring for animals.
Personal advocates and volunteers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personal Advocate | Volunteer | |
| Average salary | $36,577 | $31,227 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $23,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | New York | - |
| Best paying company | Cigna | - |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | - |
There are a few differences between a personal advocate and a volunteer in terms of educational background:
| Personal Advocate | Volunteer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Fullerton |
Here are the differences between personal advocates' and volunteers' demographics:
| Personal Advocate | Volunteer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0% | Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7% | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.3% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |