Post job

Support vs assistant

The differences between supports and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a support and an assistant. Additionally, an assistant has an average salary of $37,363, which is higher than the $36,227 average annual salary of a support.

The top three skills for a support include customer service, cash management and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Support vs assistant overview

SupportAssistant
Yearly salary$36,227$37,363
Hourly rate$17.42$17.96
Growth rate10%-8%
Number of jobs136,788557,900
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4250
Years of experience22

What does a support do?

A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.

What does an assistant do?

An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.

Support vs assistant salary

Supports and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

SupportAssistant
Average salary$36,227$37,363
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $54,000Between $16,000 And $82,000
Highest paying CityUrban Honolulu, HIBoston, MA
Highest paying stateHawaiiMassachusetts
Best paying companyMicrosoftLatham & Watkins
Best paying industryProfessionalEducation

Differences between support and assistant education

There are a few differences between a support and an assistant in terms of educational background:

SupportAssistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityWestern Carolina University

Support vs assistant demographics

Here are the differences between supports' and assistants' demographics:

SupportAssistant
Average age4250
Gender ratioMale, 51.4% Female, 48.6%Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%6%

Differences between support and assistant duties and responsibilities

Support example responsibilities.

  • Manage SharePoint site user access using ITSM ticketing system, efficiently handle 3 plus trouble tickets daily.
  • Manage office LAN, instituting daily backups of all corporate documents, network-wide virus protection, and firewall security.
  • Prepare and maintain production reports in excel, access, and PowerPoint.
  • Train physicians on how to effectively use CPOE - order entry and order set.
  • Assist in creating PowerPoint presentations for monthly business meetings, MLS reports and daily listings.
  • Work closely with the builder team, to troubleshoot any issues the clinic are experiencing.
  • Show more

Assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage circulations, including educational textbooks and DVDS, video technology and supplies.
  • Manage branches providing information technology support, logistics, training and operational support.
  • Manage company's twitter account and communicate with multiple physical therapy providers around the country
  • Optimize productivity in prioritizing and managing special projects, PowerPoint presentations for classes, and proctore exams for undergraduate classes.
  • Assist in jewelry design and assembly, manage company Facebook page, participate in wholesale buying, and manage retail inventory
  • Manage and update company Facebook page with daily updates, finding/sharing relevant and interesting information, and encouraging fan engagement.
  • Show more

Support vs assistant skills

Common support skills
  • Customer Service, 38%
  • Cash Management, 24%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 23%
  • HR, 3%
  • Inventory Control, 2%
  • Ladders, 1%
Common assistant skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • Patient Care, 8%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Sales Floor, 5%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 3%

Browse computer and mathematical jobs