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The differences between personal assistants and chiefs of staff can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a personal assistant, becoming a chief of staff takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a chief of staff has an average salary of $130,835, which is higher than the $40,026 average annual salary of a personal assistant.
The top three skills for a personal assistant include run errands, companionship and scheduling appointments. The most important skills for a chief of staff are PET, team support, and project management.
| Personal Assistant | Chief Of Staff | |
| Yearly salary | $40,026 | $130,835 |
| Hourly rate | $19.24 | $62.90 |
| Growth rate | -8% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 21,638 | 124,272 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 49 | 52 |
| Years of experience | 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.
A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.
Personal assistants and chiefs of staff have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personal Assistant | Chief Of Staff | |
| Average salary | $40,026 | $130,835 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $60,000 | Between $85,000 And $200,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a personal assistant and a chief of staff in terms of educational background:
| Personal Assistant | Chief Of Staff | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between personal assistants' and chiefs of staff' demographics:
| Personal Assistant | Chief Of Staff | |
| Average age | 49 | 52 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% | Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |