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The differences between behavior support specialists and residential 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 residential specialist. Additionally, a behavior support specialist has an average salary of $36,769, which is higher than the $33,451 average annual salary of a residential 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 residential specialist are mental health, crisis intervention, and CPR.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Residential Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,769 | $33,451 |
| Hourly rate | $17.68 | $16.08 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 140,749 | 49,467 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| 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 residential specialist job is to provide quality support services to consumers that enhance physical, emotional, intellectual, vocational, communication, and social skills according to the individual's needs, abilities, and choices. Their duties and responsibilities include following the guidelines given by their agencies and assisting clients as needed according to their daily plan and schedule.
Behavior support specialists and residential specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Behavior Support Specialist | Residential Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,769 | $33,451 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $46,000 | Between $25,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | California |
| Best paying company | Texas | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a behavior support specialist and a residential specialist in terms of educational background:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Residential Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| 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 residential specialists' demographics:
| Behavior Support Specialist | Residential Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% | Male, 29.7% Female, 70.3% |
| 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, 12.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |