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The differences between project assistants and administrative project 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 project assistant and an administrative project assistant. Additionally, an administrative project assistant has an average salary of $41,668, which is higher than the $38,564 average annual salary of a project assistant.
The top three skills for a project assistant include data entry, powerpoint and customer service. The most important skills for an administrative project assistant are customer service, data entry, and powerpoint.
| Project Assistant | Administrative Project Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $38,564 | $41,668 |
| Hourly rate | $18.54 | $20.03 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 59,664 | 58,448 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A project assistant's role mainly revolves around assisting a project manager. The responsibilities may vary upon the industry or organization. Still, most of them will be administrative tasks such as preparing reports and documentation, responding to calls and other forms of correspondence, and coordinating with various offices and personnel. Furthermore, a Project Assistant must also ensure the department's efficient workflow, proper utilization of budget, review documentation and schedules, attend meetings, and maintain an information database.
An administrative project assistant is responsible for supporting the project management operations according to business requirements and client specifications. Administrative project assistants perform administrative duties, such as conducting market research, writing progress reports, updating tracking systems, sorting project documents, and scheduling meetings. They also maintain accurate records of financial transactions, managing the stock inventories, and escalating concerns that would affect the output deliveries. An administrative project assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on data management processes and performing duties under minimal supervision and strict deadlines.
Project assistants and administrative project assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Assistant | Administrative Project Assistant | |
| Average salary | $38,564 | $41,668 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $57,000 | Between $31,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | Jacobs Engineering Group |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Construction |
There are a few differences between a project assistant and an administrative project assistant in terms of educational background:
| Project Assistant | Administrative Project Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between project assistants' and administrative project assistants' demographics:
| Project Assistant | Administrative Project Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1% | Male, 10.3% Female, 89.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |