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Career specialist vs learning specialist

The differences between career specialists and learning specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a career specialist and a learning specialist. Additionally, a learning specialist has an average salary of $57,035, which is higher than the $45,299 average annual salary of a career specialist.

The top three skills for a career specialist include career development, professional development and career exploration. The most important skills for a learning specialist are customer service, professional development, and project management.

Career specialist vs learning specialist overview

Career SpecialistLearning Specialist
Yearly salary$45,299$57,035
Hourly rate$21.78$27.42
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs16,35338,229
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a career specialist do?

Also called workforce trainers, career specialists determine career and vocational opportunities for qualified job-searches using different assessments. Career specialists plan and implement a comprehensive career development program within the realm of student services. They assess and evaluate career development test results and use them as a guide for individuals. It is part of their job to counsel in terms of administrative tasks. Skills necessary for this job include communication, attention to detail, and career guidance.

What does a learning specialist do?

Learning specialists are highly skilled teachers providing educational support to students who struggle academically at schools. They are responsible for working closely with students and their parents to develop a learning strategy suitable for a student's learning style to improve their grades and academic progress. Other responsibilities of a learning specialist include educating teachers and parents on learning differences, communicating with teachers and parents regularly about a student's progress, and keeping abreast of current teaching methods.

Career specialist vs learning specialist salary

Career specialists and learning specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Career SpecialistLearning Specialist
Average salary$45,299$57,035
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $61,000Between $37,000 And $87,000
Highest paying CitySanta Cruz, CANewark, NJ
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyBoston Public SchoolsMeta
Best paying industryEducationInsurance

Differences between career specialist and learning specialist education

There are a few differences between a career specialist and a learning specialist in terms of educational background:

Career SpecialistLearning Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Career specialist vs learning specialist demographics

Here are the differences between career specialists' and learning specialists' demographics:

Career SpecialistLearning Specialist
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 31.1% Female, 68.9%Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.9% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between career specialist and learning specialist duties and responsibilities

Career specialist example 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.
  • Document and comply with confidentiality of student information, and Medicaid billing.

Learning specialist example responsibilities.

  • Lead strategic planning for eLearning initiatives and manage company-wide training for laboratory information system update.
  • Manage the integration of the student information system Jenzabar CX/JICS with Moodle.
  • Lead experiential learning in supervisory skills, conflict management, leadership, team building and organization process effectiveness.
  • Instruct on how to create PowerPoint presentations and debate an argument during an oral defense.
  • Develop individualized education plans for students who receive math intervention services.
  • Tutor and advise undergraduate level courses in introductory statistics and mathematics.
  • Show more

Career specialist vs learning specialist skills

Common career specialist skills
  • Career Development, 13%
  • Professional Development, 8%
  • Career Exploration, 8%
  • Financial Aid, 6%
  • Labor Market, 5%
  • Career Planning, 5%
Common learning specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Professional Development, 6%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Instructional Design, 4%

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