Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between career specialists and workforce development 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 workforce development specialist. Additionally, a career specialist has an average salary of $45,299, which is higher than the $43,666 average annual salary of a workforce development specialist.
The top three skills for a career specialist include career development, professional development and career exploration. The most important skills for a workforce development specialist are social services, training programs, and HR.
| Career Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $45,299 | $43,666 |
| Hourly rate | $21.78 | $20.99 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 16,353 | 80,041 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A workforce development specialist is responsible for designing and conducting training and development programs to significantly improve organizational and individual performance. You will perform a few duties that include evaluating training delivery modes, such as virtual or in-person to optimize training effectiveness and costs, developing, obtaining, or organizing training guides and procedure manuals, and coordinating the placement of trainees. As a workforce development specialist, you also have to choose and assign training instructors and negotiating contracts with clients.
Career specialists and workforce development specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Career Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average salary | $45,299 | $43,666 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $61,000 | Between $28,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Cruz, CA | Roseville, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Boston Public Schools | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Education | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a career specialist and a workforce development specialist in terms of educational background:
| Career Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between career specialists' and workforce development specialists' demographics:
| Career Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9% | Male, 33.6% Female, 66.4% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 11.6% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |