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The differences between unit assistants and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a unit assistant, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assistant has an average salary of $37,363, which is higher than the $33,802 average annual salary of a unit assistant.
The top three skills for a unit assistant include patients, customer service and HIPAA. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Unit Assistant | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $33,802 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $16.25 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 16% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 174,425 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 37 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A unit assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties within a department of a health care institution, ensuring that the patients receive the highest quality care services for their concerns and needs. Unit assistants assist the patients and the visitors, confirm their appointments, and direct them to the correct personnel or medical department. They also manage the adequacy of medical supplies and report defective equipment and machine to the maintenance for immediate repairs or replacements. A unit assistant must be highly organizational, especially on storing medical records and updating patients' information on the database.
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.
Unit assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Unit Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $33,802 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $44,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Westfield, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | UC Santa Barbara | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Education |
There are a few differences between a unit assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Unit Assistant | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between unit assistants' and assistants' demographics:
| Unit Assistant | Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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 | 6% | 6% |