Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between social services 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 social services assistant and a program assistant. Additionally, a social services assistant has an average salary of $37,445, which is higher than the $35,193 average annual salary of a program assistant.
The top three skills for a social services assistant include social work, patients and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a program assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.
| Social Services Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,445 | $35,193 |
| Hourly rate | $18.00 | $16.92 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 152,760 | 96,901 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A social services assistant is responsible for supporting the social needs of citizens within society. Social services assistants work within the community office or health institutions to assist patients and their families in processing their needs and obtaining medical information. They also coordinate with other organizations to gather additional resources and financial assistance to plan community programs that will be beneficial for society. A social services assistant provides counseling to the families to identify the services and referrals they needed.
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.
Social services assistants and program assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Services Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,445 | $35,193 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $47,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Tacoma, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Research Foundation of The City University of New York | The Aspen Institute |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a social services assistant and a program assistant in terms of educational background:
| Social Services Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY at Binghamton | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between social services assistants' and program assistants' demographics:
| Social Services Assistant | Program Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.0% Female, 83.0% | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% | 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% |