How To Become A Reference Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a reference assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a reference assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.4 an hour? That's $27,874 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -4% and produce -6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreReference AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $27,874

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.76%

Asian 6.44%

Black or African American 10.45%

Hispanic or Latino 14.52%

Unknown 4.74%

White 63.09%

Gender

female 67.74%

male 32.26%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

3.7

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a reference assistant

Explore reference assistant education requirements

Most common reference assistant degrees

Bachelor's

76.3 %

Master's

11.8 %

Associate

5.9 %

Start to develop specific reference assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Library Materials	7.50%
Library Patrons	7.11%
Interlibrary Loan	5.85%
Reference Desk	5.77%
Reference Services	5.56%

Complete relevant reference assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New reference assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a reference assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real reference assistant resumes.

Research reference assistant duties and responsibilities

Construct and manage subject LibGuides.
Manage yearly budget for DVDs.
Search for and retrieve cases from online databases such as Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.
Prepare library libguides and bibliographies on various areas of law.

Prepare your reference assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your reference assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a reference assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable reference assistant resume templates

Build a professional reference assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your reference assistant resume.