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The differences between behavior support specialists and community support 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 community support specialist. Additionally, a community support specialist has an average salary of $39,320, 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 community support specialist are social work, mental health, and rehabilitation.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,769 | $39,320 |
| Hourly rate | $17.68 | $18.90 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 140,749 | 111,431 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| 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.
A community support specialist is responsible for supporting and providing care services for citizens with mental health conditions and other medical illnesses. Community support specialists coordinate with organizations and health institutions to generate resources that would help the patients in their daily activities, medications, and treatment plans. They also strategize community events and activities to observe the patients' social and personal behaviors and endorse them to a mental health professional for in-depth examination and counseling.
Behavior support specialists and community support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,769 | $39,320 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $46,000 | Between $27,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Texas | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a behavior support specialist and a community support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between behavior support specialists' and community support specialists' demographics:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% | Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2% |
| 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, 12.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.0% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |