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Project officer vs project assistant

The differences between project officers and project assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project officer has an average salary of $59,291, which is higher than the $38,564 average annual salary of a project assistant.

The top three skills for a project officer include project management, technical assistance and press releases. The most important skills for a project assistant are data entry, powerpoint, and customer service.

Project officer vs project assistant overview

Project OfficerProject Assistant
Yearly salary$59,291$38,564
Hourly rate$28.51$18.54
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs127,35259,664
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4750
Years of experience-2

What does a project officer do?

A project officer provides vital support to a project by monitoring deadlines for each project task and closely monitors the project schedule. They work with the project manager and other team members to reach the project target. They can work in almost every field of industry, such as construction, communications, education, and even sales. They can also do administrative tasks, including arranging team meetings, file project documents to the database, and technological skills, and they report directly to the Project Manager to assess project progress and to discuss future steps.

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.

Project officer vs project assistant salary

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

Project OfficerProject Assistant
Average salary$59,291$38,564
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $84,000Between $25,000 And $57,000
Highest paying CityBaltimore, MDPortland, OR
Highest paying stateRhode IslandOregon
Best paying companyMorgan StanleyAstraZeneca
Best paying industryHealth CareTechnology

Differences between project officer and project assistant education

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

Project OfficerProject Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaWestern Carolina University

Project officer vs project assistant demographics

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

Project OfficerProject Assistant
Average age4750
Gender ratioMale, 65.5% Female, 34.5%Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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%
LGBT Percentage10%6%

Differences between project officer and project assistant duties and responsibilities

Project officer example responsibilities.

  • Lead project to create a PMO data warehouse for analysts to track, validate, analyze and manage day-to-day portfolio activities.
  • Manage repository of SharePoint site to update and monitor inventory.
  • Lead multiple projects, including developing a SharePoint information portal.
  • Manage quality assurance checks for FDA and internal audits which result in no documentation/information error and successful completion of the audits.
  • Review and provide analysis statements on RFP and subsequent contractor responses to RFP.
  • Design and implement an algorithm to crawl over LinkedIn API and merge them using python program.
  • Show more

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 officer vs project assistant skills

Common project officer skills
  • Project Management, 18%
  • Technical Assistance, 9%
  • Press Releases, 7%
  • Project Proposals, 7%
  • Logistical Support, 6%
  • Financial Reports, 6%
Common project assistant skills
  • Data Entry, 11%
  • PowerPoint, 8%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Meeting Minutes, 4%
  • Data Collection, 4%

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