Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between adoption specialists and human service specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an adoption specialist, becoming a human service specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a human service specialist has an average salary of $49,025, which is higher than the $41,070 average annual salary of an adoption specialist.
The top three skills for an adoption specialist include foster care, social work and adoption process. The most important skills for a human service specialist are mental health, social work, and program eligibility.
| Adoption Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $41,070 | $49,025 |
| Hourly rate | $19.75 | $23.57 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 84,209 | 124,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
Adoption Specialists are responsible for evaluating and arranging both adoptive parents' and child's needs to ensure a good family fit. Their duties include undertaking adoption research on families, completing paperwork requirements, carrying out adoption education for families before and following children's placements at their house, and assisting in post-placement services. They are also responsible for developing adoption plans, act as main family advisors, and organize community resources needed by both adoptive parents and children, such as education, health care, and counseling.
Human services specialists provide a range of social services with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people they serve. They can work for organizations, including housing associations, mental health facilities, rehabilitation centers, residential care homes, and food banks. Most of their duties involve interacting with people and conduct counseling. This job also requires active listening skills to comprehend your clients easily and understand their needs to provide care for people in difficult circumstances.
Adoption specialists and human service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Adoption Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $41,070 | $49,025 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $57,000 | Between $33,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | Regeneron |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between an adoption specialist and a human service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Adoption Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between adoption specialists' and human service specialists' demographics:
| Adoption Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 22.5% Female, 77.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | Black or African American, 15.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |