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The differences between academic guidance specialists and admissions specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an academic guidance specialist has an average salary of $50,630, which is higher than the $36,140 average annual salary of an admissions specialist.
The top three skills for an academic guidance specialist include professional development, social work and student retention. The most important skills for an admissions specialist are patients, customer service, and social work.
| Academic Guidance Specialist | Admissions Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,630 | $36,140 |
| Hourly rate | $24.34 | $17.38 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 18,180 | 17,384 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An academic guidance specialist conducts individual planning, interviews, and aptitude assessments to evaluate learners' interests and abilities. They identify issues affecting the student's performance, like not attending all classes. Besides working with parents, administrators, and teachers to help learners succeed, academic guidance specialists also help learners create a program to attain career goals and academic objectives. They help learners develop skills like effective learning habits, time management abilities, and organizational abilities. Moreover, these professionals maintain records as needed.
An admissions specialist's main role is to provide timely, accurate, and complete evaluation service of academic credentials for incoming first-year and transferee students, as well as existing enrolled students. They serve as a vital member of the evaluation team to ensure a smooth and timely evaluation process. They also support the Office of Undergraduate Admissions in overall function from enrollment processing, application of student files, reviewing the transcript of records to evaluate academic credentials of incoming freshmen students, and transferee applicants.
Academic guidance specialists and admissions specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Academic Guidance Specialist | Admissions Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,630 | $36,140 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $74,000 | Between $27,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Fresno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Michigan State University | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an academic guidance specialist and an admissions specialist in terms of educational background:
| Academic Guidance Specialist | Admissions Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between academic guidance specialists' and admissions specialists' demographics:
| Academic Guidance Specialist | Admissions Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.7% Female, 68.3% | Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |