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The differences between adoption specialists and 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 specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, 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 specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Adoption Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $41,070 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $19.75 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 84,209 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Adoption specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Adoption Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $41,070 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $57,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between an adoption specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Adoption Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between adoption specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Adoption Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |