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The differences between teacher assistants and special education instructional assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a special education instructional assistant has an average salary of $32,025, which is higher than the $27,103 average annual salary of a teacher assistant.
The top three skills for a teacher assistant include CPR, child care and mathematics. The most important skills for a special education instructional assistant are CPR, instructional materials, and autism.
| Teacher Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $27,103 | $32,025 |
| Hourly rate | $13.03 | $15.40 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 77,358 | 60,974 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Teacher assistants are responsible for aiding teachers in their needs inside the classroom. They help teachers prepare for lessons in class, set up equipment, distribute educational materials to students, and monitor the progress of the students. Teacher assistants also help in managing the children in the classroom, as well as providing the necessary assistance a child may need. This may include helping with the lessons by going table to table, assisting in writing exercises, and tutoring kids one-to-one. Teacher assistants are required to have patience, flexibility, and classroom management skills.
Special education instructional assistant does work under the supervision of the principal and other administrative workers, especially in school and college. They prepare the material aids which are helping to teach in the classroom. Moreover, they are more inclined upon the progress of students. Conducting the exams, preparing the notes, preparing the result and giving the instruction to the students about their life career and course books etc are the main duties of the special education instructional assistant. They preach, instruct, command and come up with the idea about making the school environment more friendly and viable.
Teacher assistants and special education instructional assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Teacher Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Average salary | $27,103 | $32,025 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $34,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Coventry, RI | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Goleta Union School District |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Education |
There are a few differences between a teacher assistant and a special education instructional assistant in terms of educational background:
| Teacher Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Duke University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between teacher assistants' and special education instructional assistants' demographics:
| Teacher Assistant | Special Education Instructional Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.5% Female, 78.5% | Male, 19.3% Female, 80.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 7.8% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |