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What is a career specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Shelley Sadin,
William Hill

Also called labor force mentors, Career Specialists decide vocation and professional freedoms for qualified employment pursuits utilizing various evaluations. Career Specialists plan and execute a thorough professional advancement program inside the domain of understudy administrations. They survey and assess career improvement test results and use them as a guide for people. It is an aspect of their responsibilities to guide as far as regulatory assignments. Abilities essential for this work include correspondence, tender loving care, and vocation direction.

For Career Specialists, 1,705 Career Specialist resumes show that Career Specialists most usually study business, brain science, or social work. 45% of Career Specialists hold four-year certification, 35% hold a graduate degree, and 6% hold an associate degree, the most ordinarily required instruction level is a four-year certification.

Career Specialists in the United States make a normal compensation of $42,880 each year or $20.62 per hour. Individuals on the lower end of that range, the base 10% to be definite, generally make $32,000 every year, while the top 10% make $56,000.

What general advice would you give to a career specialist?

Shelley SadinShelley Sadin LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean of Professional and Career Development, Quinnipiac University

Communicating clearly, both orally and in writing.
It is identifying and analyzing legal and factual issues with an open, thoughtful, and creative mind.
Working collaboratively with clients, colleagues, opponents, and others involved in a case to solve problems.
Being meticulously ethical and professional in all interactions. This includes treating everyone involved in a matter with respect, recognizing, and honoring their different backgrounds and perspectives.
Being self-disciplined, motivated, resilient, courageous, kind, and flexible.
ScoreCareer SpecialistUS Average
Salary
3.5

Avg. Salary $45,299

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.5

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 5.87%

Black or African American 11.41%

Hispanic or Latino 17.12%

Unknown 6.31%

White 58.78%

Gender

female 68.89%

male 31.11%

Age - 44
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44
Stress level
5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Career specialist career paths

Key steps to become a career specialist

  1. Explore career specialist education requirements

    Most common career specialist degrees

    Bachelor's

    64.4 %

    Master's

    15.5 %

    Associate

    13.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific career specialist skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Career Development13.03%
    Professional Development8.36%
    Career Exploration8.06%
    Financial Aid6.03%
    Labor Market5.15%
  3. Complete relevant career specialist training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New career specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a career specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real career specialist resumes.
  4. Research career specialist duties and responsibilities

    • Lead advocacy efforts to increase employment opportunities for veterans by contacting hiring executives and encourage the hiring of disable veterans.
    • Determine eligibility and suitability for WIA youth services.
    • Establish applicant eligibility and suitability for WIA enrollment associate with personal barriers to employment.
    • Lead advocacy efforts to increase employment opportunities for veterans by contacting hiring executives and encourage the hiring of disable veterans.
  5. Prepare your career specialist resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your career specialist resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a career specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable career specialist resume templates

    Build a professional career specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your career specialist resume.
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
    Career Specialist Resume
  6. Apply for career specialist jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a career specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first career specialist job

Zippi

Are you a career specialist?

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Average career specialist salary

The average career specialist salary in the United States is $45,299 per year or $22 per hour. Career specialist salaries range between $33,000 and $61,000 per year.

Average career specialist salary
$45,299 Yearly
$21.78 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do career specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Career specialist reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

Helping people find their own paths, incorporating values and interests. I love it when people identify what they really want and get excited about working towards it.

Cons

I'm in private practice so there's always some task that needs doing: bookkeeping, marketing, etc. It's a lot but it's not unbearable.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019
Pros

Helping students (and others) make meaningful connections to careers.

Cons

The burocracy and silos in higher education.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019
Pros

Guiding students toward rewarding careers.

Cons

I am employed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Career Development Advisors are paid much lower than Corporate Relations Managers even though we do similar jobs


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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