A personal assistant takes care of almost every aspect of an individual’s life to save them time and ensure their days run smoothly. So, how much does a personal assistant make for helping another person with their day-to-day tasks? The short answer is that it widely varies.
A professional looking to hire a personal assistant sets the salary they are willing to pay for a personal assistant. Some individuals ask more of their assistants than others and are willing to offer higher pay to attract the best talent. In this article, we will go over the average pay for personal assistants and the common duties and responsibilities.
How much a personal assistant makes depends on a few things, such as their education level, experience, skills, and availability. Their pay also varies greatly depending on the employer. A wealthy individual that requires a lot from their personal assistant will pay more to attract and retain the right person for the position.
The average salary also varies depending on geographic location. The pay rate increases when the cost of living is higher in a specific area. The average pay for a personal assistant in the US is $50,685, but it ranges from around $35,000 to $94,000. The more a personal assistant does to save their employer time, make their life easier and more successful, the higher their pay.
A personal assistant’s salary depends on how much they contribute to their employer’s day-to-day duties and responsibilities and how easy they make things for them. There are different types of personal assistants.
Some personal assistants are fantastic at helping their employer maximize productivity and ensuring their days run smoothly; others require more direction and delegation of work. Here are the different types of personal assistants.
This type of personal assistant needs a lot of hand-holding and supervision to ensure the essentials get completed. They always rely on their employer to tell them exactly what needs to get done and what they should do next.
The gofer personal assistant is not the ideal one as it requires a lot of time and attention from the employer, which defects the purpose of the role. It’s not the type of personal assistant who makes the days run seamlessly. This type of personal assistant makes much less than the average since they do less independent work.
The administrative personal assistant is much more independent than the gofer assistant. They handle various tasks with little direction, but only when there are clear processes and procedures for them to follow. They can easily master well-defined tasks.
The administrative personal assistant gets hung up on completing tasks when there’s no concrete method to get them done successfully. They fear making a mistake that causes trouble, so they are often reluctant to use their own discretion.
So, the administrative personal assistant will save their employer time by completing specific tasks with clear direction. However, they avoid tasks that require them to be innovative and creative, which is valuable for an employer.
The executive personal assistant can take almost any task with little to no instruction and figure it out. Unlike administrative personal assistants who are only confident completing jobs that have the steps clearly laid out, executive personal assistants like a good challenge and tackle them head-on.
An executive personal assistant just needs to understand what you’re looking to accomplish with the task. So, their employer needs to give them basic information about the project, and they will take it from there.
The executive personal assistant is confident enough to make decisions on behalf of their employer. They are great at saving the professionals time by avoiding explaining everything in detail as long as they have the basis. This type of personal assistant makes more than the administrative and gofer type since they are more valuable.
The chief of staff personal assistant is the most valuable to have. They understand their employers’ wants, needs, and business and are capable of completing any task thrown their way. This personal assistant works with little to no direction as they always know what needs to get done.
This personal assistant takes much of the administrative and time-consuming load off their employer’s plate without being told. They know what it takes to help their boss maximize production daily and keep their days running smoothly and on schedule.
The chief of staff personal assistant knows much about their boss’ business, including key players and objectives to spot things that need to get done. They often handle most of their employers’ email inboxes. They know which emails should remain in the inbox for their boss to see and which are a waste of their time.
The chief of staff personal assistant takes tasks upon themselves as they see needed. They are a huge value to a professional, so these personal assistants make the most on average. These personal assistants help their boss increase their success without working around the clock. An individual looking to become a personal assistant should strive to fit the role of the chief of staff.
A professional looking to hire a personal assistant should start by making a long list of the duties they want their personal assistant to handle. Some everyday tasks on a personal assistant to-do-list are:
– Run errands
– Answer phones
– Schedule appointments
– Manage correspondence
– Make travel arrangements
– Organize events
– Oversee workers
– Act as a gatekeeper to their boss
A personal assistant makes more when they complete more specialized or challenging tasks such as light accounting and bookkeeping work or needing to travel with their boss. Some personal assistants’ salaries rise considerably when required to travel with their employer for business or pleasure for long periods of time.
If a professional with a personal assistant has young children, they often rely on their personal assistant to help with transporting their kids to and from school and other activities. These very important responsibilities usually add to how much a personal assistant makes.
A personal assistant who has been on the job for some time and has proven their worth often receives hefty raises or annual bonuses. A personal assistant makes more when they add high value to their boss, including saving them time, helping their days run smoothly, and contributing to their increased success.
The employer looking to hire a personal assistant sets the education and work requirements. At the least, a high school diploma is needed. Some professionals want their personal assistant to have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. This is often when the employer has their personal assistant handle more complex or critical tasks for their business.
A personal assistant makes more when they have years of experience and bring valuable skills to the table. Employers typically look for personal assistants with administrative experience, whether it be administrative assistants, executive assistants, or even receptionists. Some professionals looking to hire a personal assistant want one with expertise in their related field, no matter the support role.
A personal assistant makes a higher salary when they possess specific skills that benefit the employer. The easier they make their boss’ life and the greater success the employer has, the higher the personal assistants’ salary.
Good personal assistants bring skills that bring a lot of value to a professional’s personal and business affairs. The best personal assistants have a variety of soft and hard skills such as:
– Interpersonal skills
– Ability to multitask
– Computer skills
– Research skills
– Attention to detail
– Leadership skills
– Decision-making skills
– Ability to work independently without supervision
– Project management skills
– Problem-solving skills
– Design and marketing skills
Extremely driven personal assistants often work to advance their knowledge and skills to become more valuable to an employer. Many personal assistants complete various online courses to learn new skills to help manage business more efficiently. There are a variety of business applications that highly-skilled personal assistants learn, so they have a good working knowledge of and can assist their boss with many business matters.
How much a personal assistant makes depends on a variety of things such as experience, skills, education, geographic area, and the employer. A personal assistant can make anywhere from $35,000 to $94,000.
The more valuable a personal assistant is, the more they make. Professionals looking to hire a highly-skilled personal assistant are willing to pay a higher salary to attract and retain great talent.
Are you ready to jump into a personal assistant role or want to hire one? If so, contact Pocketbook Agency today, and we’ll find you your perfect match!
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