Salon assistant vs colorist

The differences between salon assistants and colorists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a salon assistant and a colorist. Additionally, a colorist has an average salary of $34,792, which is higher than the $26,083 average annual salary of a salon assistant.

The top three skills for a salon assistant include PET, cleanliness and customer service. The most important skills for a colorist are color correction, davinci resolve, and color theory.

Salon assistant vs colorist overview

	Salon Assistant	Colorist
Yearly salary	$26,083	$34,792
Hourly rate	$12.54	$16.73
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	23,585	42,160
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

Salon assistant vs colorist salary

Salon assistants and colorists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Salon Assistant	Colorist
Average salary	$26,083	$34,792
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $37,000	Between $22,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Adobe
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between salon assistant and colorist education

There are a few differences between a salon assistant and a colorist in terms of educational background:

	Salon Assistant	Colorist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Cosmetology	Cosmetology
Most common college	-	-

Salon assistant vs colorist demographics

Here are the differences between salon assistants' and colorists' demographics:

	Salon Assistant	Colorist
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 12.6% Female, 87.4%	Male, 43.7% Female, 56.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 8.2% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between salon assistant and colorist duties and responsibilities

Salon assistant example responsibilities.

Maintain salon appearance ensuring cleanliness, organization and manage inventory of salon products.
Color, bleach, perm and relax hair.
Assist in blow drying clients hair by holding hair dryers and brushes in place.
Maintain and style wigs and hair pieces for the production shows through grooming techniques.
Assist clients with consultations on products, braids, lock maintenance and other desire styles.
Assist in blow drying and styling activities by holding dryers and brushes and clips in place.

Colorist example responsibilities.

Manage cleaning up activities after hair care appointments by ensuring appropriate cleanliness and sterilization of cutting and trimming equipment.
Screened/Evaluat and HD DI color correct feature films, utilizing Autodesk Lustre for restoration.
Remastered archival feature footage to HD.
Perform DI on major feature films, commercial and special projects.
Navigate project through continually changing workflows VFX revisions and delivery specs.
Provide hairstylist services/professional makeup/manicures/pedicures and modeling.

Salon assistant vs colorist skills

Common salon assistant skills

PET, 22%
Cleanliness, 16%
Customer Service, 15%
Appointment Scheduling, 10%
Front Desk, 7%
Makeup, 3%

Common colorist skills

Color Correction, 13%
Davinci Resolve, 11%
Color Theory, 9%
Front Desk, 9%
Color Standards, 7%
Adobe Photoshop, 5%