# Assistants

- Link: https://euemployment.eu/glossary/assistants/
- Published: 2024-02-24T18:28:52+01:00
- Author: Ben

**EU officials in the grades**[** ****AST1 to AST11**](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/#AST1-AST2-AST3-AST4-AST5-AST6-AST7-AST8-AST9-AST10-AST11).
Usual tasks for [administrators](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/administrators/)
entail mostly technical, but sometimes also executive functions in administration
and human resources, finance, and IT. Less frequently assistants can also perform
communication, research and policy-related tasks.

The roles of ‘Assistants’ should not be confused with secretarial and lower-level
administrative tasks. While there are secretaries that are ‘administrators’, regular
secretaries and clerks have a separate category of[ AST/SC](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/#AST/SC-1-6).

AST1, AST2, AST3, AST4, AST5, AST6, AST7, AST8, AST9, AST10, AST11 are all grades
in which Assistants at the [European Commission](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/european-commission/)
and other EU institutions are placed.

AD1 is the initial [grade](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/grade/) for Assistants
while [AD11](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/ad-11/) is the highest [grade](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/grade/)
for Assistants, that can put a person in a very senior role in EU institutions with
significant managerial duties.

[Salaries of Assistants](https://euemployment.eu/category/assistants/) are identical
to [salaries of Administrators](https://euemployment.eu/category/administrators-ad5-to-ad16/)
in the grades AST 5 to AST 11 and [AD 5](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/ad-5/)
and [AD 11](https://euemployment.eu/glossary/ad-11/).