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The differences between behavior support specialists and child life specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a behavior support specialist and a child life specialist. Additionally, a child life specialist has an average salary of $55,201, which is higher than the $36,769 average annual salary of a behavior support specialist.
The top three skills for a behavior support specialist include social work, crisis intervention and applied behavior analysis. The most important skills for a child life specialist are patients, child development, and patient care.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,769 | $55,201 |
| Hourly rate | $17.68 | $26.54 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 140,749 | 90,517 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Behavior support specialists are social work professionals who provide support to other therapists in treating individuals with behavioral issues. These specialists must provide behavior analysis and health consultations to individuals who are diagnosed with development delay issues, disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders. They must develop and monitor crisis intervention plans for patients with mental health and behavioral needs. Behavior support specialists must also work with special education and regular teachers to implement behavior intervention strategies for students with special education needs.
The job of a child life specialist is to help children and their families navigate the process of injury, illness, trauma, hospitalization, and disability. These health care professionals perform varied duties that include helping children and their families better understand the procedure and process of their medical experience. They also work on developing strategies to lessen the trauma and improve their understanding of a diagnosis by providing support, guidance, and information to family members. They are also expected to work closely with other members of the health care team in coordinating and managing care.
Behavior support specialists and child life specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,769 | $55,201 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $46,000 | Between $31,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | California |
| Best paying company | Texas | L.E.K. Consulting |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a behavior support specialist and a child life specialist in terms of educational background:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between behavior support specialists' and child life specialists' demographics:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.9% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |