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The differences between behavior support specialists and human service 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 human service specialist. Additionally, a human service specialist has an average salary of $49,025, 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 human service specialist are mental health, social work, and program eligibility.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,769 | $49,025 |
| Hourly rate | $17.68 | $23.57 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 140,749 | 124,752 |
| 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.
Human services specialists provide a range of social services with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people they serve. They can work for organizations, including housing associations, mental health facilities, rehabilitation centers, residential care homes, and food banks. Most of their duties involve interacting with people and conduct counseling. This job also requires active listening skills to comprehend your clients easily and understand their needs to provide care for people in difficult circumstances.
Behavior support specialists and human service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,769 | $49,025 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $46,000 | Between $33,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Texas | Regeneron |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Government |
There are a few differences between a behavior support specialist and a human service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Human Service 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 | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between behavior support specialists' and human service specialists' demographics:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Human Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% | Male, 22.5% Female, 77.5% |
| 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, 15.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |