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The differences between personnel 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 personnel assistant and a virtual assistant. Additionally, a virtual assistant has an average salary of $39,915, which is higher than the $38,830 average annual salary of a personnel assistant.
The top three skills for a personnel assistant include human resources, data entry and office equipment. The most important skills for a virtual assistant are data entry, customer service, and email management.
| Personnel Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $38,830 | $39,915 |
| Hourly rate | $18.67 | $19.19 |
| Growth rate | - | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 6,684 | 49,508 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Personnel assistants are professionals who perform administrative duties while assisting the human resources director to maintain and keep the records and confidential files of employees working in an organization. These assistants must communicate with all personnel about their compensation policies while ensuring that the company policies and procedures are consistently applied. They are required to coordinate with supervisors to create job descriptions and develop recruiting advertisements. Personnel assistants must also purchase office supplies while maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of their office area.
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.
Personnel assistants and virtual assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Personnel Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Average salary | $38,830 | $39,915 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $51,000 | Between $29,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Monterey, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Professional |
There are a few differences between a personnel assistant and a virtual assistant in terms of educational background:
| Personnel Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between personnel assistants' and virtual assistants' demographics:
| Personnel Assistant | Virtual Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.5% Female, 81.5% | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 9.1% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | 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 | 15% | 6% |