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The differences between surgical assistants and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a surgical assistant has an average salary of $52,170, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.
The top three skills for a surgical assistant include patients, surgical procedures and patient care. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Surgical Assistant | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $52,170 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $25.08 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 28,138 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
A Surgical Assistant provides assistance during an operation by performing a wide range of crucial tasks. They cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field and adjust and maintain operating room parameters according to the surgeon's specifications.
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.
Surgical assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surgical Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $52,170 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $76,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Baptist Health Care | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Education |
There are a few differences between a surgical assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Surgical Assistant | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between surgical assistants' and assistants' demographics:
| Surgical Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average age | 43 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.7% Female, 79.3% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 9.1% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 Percentage | 10% | 6% |