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Project assistant vs project manager

The differences between project assistants and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, 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 a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Project assistant vs project manager overview

Project AssistantProject Manager
Yearly salary$38,564$91,578
Hourly rate$18.54$44.03
Growth rate-8%8%
Number of jobs59,664167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age5047
Years of experience2-

What does a project assistant do?

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.

What does a project manager do?

Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.

Project assistant vs project manager salary

Project assistants and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project AssistantProject Manager
Average salary$38,564$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $57,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CityPortland, ORSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateOregonCalifornia
Best paying companyAstraZenecaThe Citadel
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between project assistant and project manager education

There are a few differences between a project assistant and a project manager in terms of educational background:

Project AssistantProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Project assistant vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between project assistants' and project managers' demographics:

Project AssistantProject Manager
Average age5047
Gender ratioMale, 32.9% Female, 67.1%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%10%

Differences between project assistant and project manager duties and responsibilities

Project assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage SharePoint document repository and ensure that project managers comply with PMO policies.
  • Manage facilities by coordinating relocation of departments by using the facilities management database and VISIO.
  • Compose and balance departmental grants, tabulate and process payroll distribution, manage and maintain office routine during supervisor's absence.
  • Manage QA budget for assign projects by identifying actual and potential budget over-runs and under-runs, develop and monitor project/program plans.
  • Create a useful project tracking tool call JIRA.
  • Communicate with donors via phone, email, and twitter.
  • Show more

Project manager example responsibilities.

  • Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
  • Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
  • Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
  • Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
  • Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
  • Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.
  • Show more

Project assistant vs project manager skills

Common project assistant skills
  • Data Entry, 11%
  • PowerPoint, 8%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Meeting Minutes, 4%
  • Data Collection, 4%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

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