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The differences between application specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an application specialist and a specialist. Additionally, an application specialist has an average salary of $84,635, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.
The top three skills for an application specialist include customer service, customer satisfaction and technical support. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Application Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $84,635 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $40.69 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 96,980 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An application specialist is responsible for maintaining the optimal performance of system applications, ensuring smooth navigation by upgrading the features of existing applications, and performing multiple diagnostic tests before releasing the applications to the digital marketplace. Application specialists work closely with the design engineers to improve system codes, verify the efficiency of network infrastructure, and adjusting application functions based on the clients' specifications and business' needs. They should always consider the budget goals, target end-users, and current market trends to design applications, meeting users' demands and public interests.
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.
Application specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $84,635 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $118,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between an application specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Application Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between application specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Application Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.7% Female, 46.3% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 11.1% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 11% | 11% |