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The differences between personal assistants and virtual 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 a virtual assistant. Additionally, a personal assistant has an average salary of $40,026, which is higher than the $39,915 average annual salary of a virtual assistant.
The top three skills for a personal assistant include run errands, companionship and scheduling appointments. The most important skills for a virtual assistant are data entry, customer service, and email management.
| Personal Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,026 | $39,915 |
| Hourly rate | $19.24 | $19.19 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 21,638 | 49,508 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| 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.
Virtual Assistants are remote workers who work with clients that need assistance. They usually do administrative or clerical activities such as managing soft copies of a document, writing e-mail correspondences, managing calendars, scheduling appointments, and other activities. They manage the e-mail of their clients and respond to inquiries and other messages. They also manage phone calls by answering calls, taking messages, and dialing for their clients. Virtual Assistants may also be asked to handle travel-related tasks of their clients, such as creating itineraries, booking flights, and booking hotels.
Personal assistants and virtual assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personal Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,026 | $39,915 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $60,000 | Between $29,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Professional |
There are a few differences between a personal assistant and a virtual assistant in terms of educational background:
| Personal Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between personal assistants' and virtual assistants' demographics:
| Personal Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Average age | 49 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% |
| 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, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 6% |