The title of 'associate specialist' is an umbrella term for someone who specializes in a line of business or a particular field of work. They can be found in almost any industry but usually work in technology, finance, and retail companies.
As you would expect, the duties of an associate specialist vary depending on their industry or line of work. In a software development company, an associate specialist may be responsible for helping development teams conduct research and resolve technical issues. In a healthcare facility, the duties of an associate specialist may include maintaining patient data, suggesting strategies for improvement of processes, and assisting senior specialists with various tasks.
Like job duties, the requirements for the role of an associate specialist also vary. However, most employers typically require a bachelor's or an associate's degree in a relevant field, at the very least. Experience, on the other hand, is also a common requirement since this is a 'specialist' position.
The average salary for this position is around $66,000 per year. Again, this depends on an associate specialist's employer, line of work, and industry of employment.
What is an Associate Specialist?
What Does an Associate Specialist Do
There are certain skills that many associate specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed interpersonal skills, math skills and persistence.
How To Become an Associate Specialist
If you're interested in becoming an associate specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 59.5% of associate specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.5% of associate specialists have master's degrees. Even though most associate specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Associate Specialist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of specialist you might progress to a role such as team leader eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title operations manager.
Average Salary for an Associate Specialist
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Associate Specialist Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active associate specialist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where associate specialists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Associate Specialist Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 10,734 | $101,759 |
| 2 | Florida | 7,455 | $88,413 |
| 3 | Texas | 6,868 | $99,660 |
| 4 | New York | 4,877 | $123,152 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 4,590 | $91,027 |
| 6 | Illinois | 3,968 | $107,120 |
| 7 | Georgia | 3,887 | $99,896 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 3,847 | $104,124 |
| 9 | Ohio | 3,819 | $81,360 |
| 10 | Virginia | 3,350 | $105,854 |
| 11 | New Jersey | 3,025 | $108,375 |
| 12 | Michigan | 2,799 | $79,411 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 2,749 | $98,409 |
| 14 | Arizona | 2,236 | $100,399 |
| 15 | Maryland | 2,186 | $86,350 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 2,185 | $96,453 |
| 17 | Indiana | 2,135 | $79,367 |
| 18 | Colorado | 2,103 | $86,623 |
| 19 | Washington | 2,003 | $113,868 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 1,992 | $107,304 |
| 21 | Missouri | 1,732 | $98,491 |
| 22 | Alabama | 1,704 | $74,873 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 1,699 | $107,686 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 1,591 | $79,312 |
| 25 | Kentucky | 1,317 | $93,930 |
| 26 | Connecticut | 1,293 | $103,601 |
| 27 | Louisiana | 1,106 | $79,914 |
| 28 | Iowa | 1,092 | $85,651 |
| 29 | Utah | 1,058 | $79,822 |
| 30 | Oregon | 1,052 | $95,012 |
| 31 | Oklahoma | 879 | $76,038 |
| 32 | Kansas | 839 | $90,377 |
| 33 | New Hampshire | 818 | $105,793 |
| 34 | Arkansas | 770 | $92,329 |
| 35 | Mississippi | 657 | $75,068 |
| 36 | Maine | 647 | $105,620 |
| 37 | West Virginia | 599 | $90,582 |
| 38 | Nevada | 593 | $86,999 |
| 39 | Delaware | 549 | $101,609 |
| 40 | Nebraska | 526 | $88,423 |
| 41 | Idaho | 441 | $91,156 |
| 42 | New Mexico | 438 | $83,755 |
| 43 | Rhode Island | 331 | $119,608 |
| 44 | Montana | 298 | $93,177 |
| 45 | Hawaii | 275 | $185,608 |
| 46 | Vermont | 257 | $106,863 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 239 | $91,014 |
| 48 | South Dakota | 230 | $100,733 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 176 | $82,004 |
| 50 | Alaska | 163 | $109,250 |
Top Skills For an Associate Specialist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 47.3% of associate specialists listed windows on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and math skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Associate Specialist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Associate Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Associate Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Associate Specialist Demographics
Associate Specialist Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among associate specialists, 59.1% of them are women, while 40.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among associate specialists is White, which makes up 56.8% of all associate specialists.
- The most common foreign language among associate specialists is Spanish at 52.6%.
Online Courses For Associate Specialist That You May Like
1. Introduction to Technical Support
Gain the daily work skills and knowledge you’ll need for IT Technical Support career success. This course, part of the IBM Technical Support Professional Certificate, is designed for beginners with no prior IT experience or formal degree. Get an insider’s view into IT Support work. Learn about IT Support roles and levels, the support escalation matrix, ticketing systems, common support tools, and remote support software. Then, hear about career opportunities and career pathways from...
See More on Coursera2. Healthcare Data Security, Privacy, and Compliance
In the final course of the Healthcare IT Support program, we will focus on the types of healthcare data that you need to be aware, complexities of security and privacy within healthcare, and issues related to compliance and reporting. As a health IT support specialist, you’ll be exposed to different types of data sources and data elements that are utilized in healthcare. It’s important for you to understand the basic language of healthcare data and for you to recognize the sensitive nature of...
See More on Coursera3. Technical Support Fundamentals
This course is the first of a series that aims to prepare you for a role as an entry-level IT Support Specialist. In this course, you’ll be introduced to the world of Information Technology, or IT. You’ll learn about the different facets of Information Technology, like computer hardware, the Internet, computer software, troubleshooting, and customer service. This course covers a wide variety of topics in IT that are designed to give you an overview of what’s to come in this certificate program...
See More on CourseraBest States For an Associate Specialist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an associate specialist. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington. Associate specialists make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $185,608. Whereas in New York and Rhode Island, they would average $123,152 and $119,608, respectively. While associate specialists would only make an average of $113,868 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New York
$123,152
Avg. Salary
2. Hawaii
$185,608
Avg. Salary
3. Maine
$105,620
Avg. Salary
How Do Associate Specialist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Associate Specialist Employers
Most Common Employers For Associate Specialist
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Hawaii Foundation | $121,294 | $58.31 | 14 |
| 2 | State Street | $111,752 | $53.73 | 31 |
| 3 | PepsiCo | $108,868 | $52.34 | 12 |
| 4 | Northern Trust | $106,129 | $51.02 | 13 |
| 5 | Synechron | $97,664 | $46.95 | 887 |
| 6 | Merck | $92,764 | $44.60 | 59 |
| 7 | General Dynamics | $90,699 | $43.61 | 149 |
| 8 | Cognizant | $88,216 | $42.41 | 15 |
| 9 | KBR | $78,971 | $37.97 | 27 |
| 10 | Allstate | $74,426 | $35.78 | 12 |
Associate Specialist Videos
Becoming an Associate Specialist FAQs
What Degree Do You Need To Be A Specialist?
You do not need a degree to be a specialist. Specialists may have a variety of educational backgrounds and or work experience.
Many specialists have bachelor's degrees in training and development, human resources, education, or instructional design. Others may have a degree in business administration or social science, such as educational or organizational psychology. However, it's not a requirement.