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The differences between psychological assistants and program assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a psychological assistant and a program assistant. Additionally, a psychological assistant has an average salary of $68,862, which is higher than the $35,193 average annual salary of a program assistant.
The top three skills for a psychological assistant include patients, crisis intervention and mental illness. The most important skills for a program assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.
| Psychological Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $68,862 | $35,193 |
| Hourly rate | $33.11 | $16.92 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 90,785 | 96,901 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A psychological assistant primarily performs support tasks to assist a psychologist in treating patients at a medical facility. Their duties focus on helping patients by answering inquiries, giving instructions, explaining procedures, gathering requirements, and conducting initial assessments. They can participate in serving the patients under the supervision and directives of a licensed psychologist. Additionally, a psychological assistant may also participate in conducting research, preparing and processing necessary paperwork, handling calls and other forms of correspondence, and attending meetings and seminars.
Program assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees assigned to a department that handles a specific program in the organization. They assist the team they are assigned to in the implementation of the programs. They usually take care of administrative or clerical activities while also getting exposure to actual program management. Program assistants get trained to handle agendas from inception, to sourcing, to implementation, to evaluation. They may also handle documentary support for business cases or other presentation materials that the team may need for a specific part of the program management cycle.
Psychological assistants and program assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Psychological Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Average salary | $68,862 | $35,193 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $105,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sparks, NV | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | New York University | The Aspen Institute |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Government |
There are a few differences between a psychological assistant and a program assistant in terms of educational background:
| Psychological Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between psychological assistants' and program assistants' demographics:
| Psychological Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5% | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 6.9% White, 50.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.0% | Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |