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The differences between sales assistants and cashiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales assistant has an average salary of $35,258, which is higher than the $28,144 average annual salary of a cashier.
The top three skills for a sales assistant include customer service, powerpoint and account executives. The most important skills for a cashier are front end, cash handling, and basic math.
| Sales Assistant | Cashier | |
| Yearly salary | $35,258 | $28,144 |
| Hourly rate | $16.95 | $13.53 |
| Growth rate | - | -10% |
| Number of jobs | 347,034 | 456,110 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | High School Diploma, 45% |
| Average age | 41 | 34 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Sales assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees who are assigned to help out in the sales department. They are responsible for any administrative or clerical activities needed in the department. They may also work on the operations floor to assist with the selling of company products or services. They help complete company sales by approaching potential buyers and answering any questions about items. They should be familiar with what the company offers to identify the products that would best fit the needs of the customer.
A cashier is one of the most visible positions in the retail industry. Cashiers are the last direct point of contact with customers and play a key role in service, retail, and wholesale establishments. They leave a long-lasting impression, which helps encourage the customers to go back. The most common tasks for cashiers are to scan items, conduct price checks, and collect payments. They may deal with a great amount of money on a daily basis, so this position requires them to be honest, reliable, and trustworthy employees. They also need to have great skills in customer service as they may handle customer complaints from time to time, assist in answering questions, and process refunds or exchanges.
Sales assistants and cashiers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Assistant | Cashier | |
| Average salary | $35,258 | $28,144 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $21,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | IBM | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a sales assistant and a cashier in terms of educational background:
| Sales Assistant | Cashier | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | High School Diploma, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales assistants' and cashiers' demographics:
| Sales Assistant | Cashier | |
| Average age | 41 | 34 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 27.1% Female, 72.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 8.0% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |