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The differences between personal assistants and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a personal assistant and an assistant. Additionally, a personal assistant has an average salary of $40,026, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.
The top three skills for a personal assistant include run errands, companionship and scheduling appointments. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,026 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $19.24 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 21,638 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Personal assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,026 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $60,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Education |
There are a few differences between a personal assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between personal assistants' and assistants' demographics:
| Personal Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 6% |