How To Become A Youth Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a youth assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

A Youth Assistant is in charge of assisting in leading educational, recreational, and enrichment activities for youth of a region or locality. He/She leads daily activities, including academic assistance, fitness, and reading. He/She engages youth in education-centered after-school and summer youth activities. Also, he/she helps in developing and implementing academic curricula into youth programs. Furthermore, he/she provides secretarial and clerical support to program staff and serves as a liaison between the program and community resources and referrals.

Employers require a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent with at least two years of related work experience. Applicants must be proficient in Microsoft Office. You must possess communication, interpersonal, and organization skills. You must be able to function under stress. Youth assistants are paid an average salary of $42,814 per annum. The range falls between $30,000 and $62,000.

What general advice would you give to a youth assistant?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreYouth AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,242

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.18%

Asian 6.77%

Black or African American 12.86%

Hispanic or Latino 17.41%

Unknown 5.19%

White 55.59%

Gender

female 55.59%

male 44.41%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a youth assistant

Explore youth assistant education requirements

Most common youth assistant degrees

Bachelor's

56.6 %

Associate

17.8 %

High School Diploma

14.6 %

Start to develop specific youth assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Child Guidance	40.32%
CPR	10.13%
Community Services	4.86%
Crisis Intervention	4.68%
Youth Program	4.21%

Complete relevant youth assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New youth assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a youth assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real youth assistant resumes.

Research youth assistant duties and responsibilities

Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation or equivalent compliance.
Assist in the development and oversee the youth ministry budget.
Develop individual education plans (IEP's) for students to address their educational needs inside a classroom environment.
Be aware and supply the resources for developing the youth ministry -program and participate in continuing education events and training opportunities.

Prepare your youth assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your youth assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a youth assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable youth assistant resume templates

Build a professional youth assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your youth assistant resume.