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The differences between child life specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a child life specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $55,201 average annual salary of a child life specialist.
The top three skills for a child life specialist include patients, child development and patient care. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Child Life Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $55,201 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $26.54 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 90,517 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
The job of a child life specialist is to help children and their families navigate the process of injury, illness, trauma, hospitalization, and disability. These health care professionals perform varied duties that include helping children and their families better understand the procedure and process of their medical experience. They also work on developing strategies to lessen the trauma and improve their understanding of a diagnosis by providing support, guidance, and information to family members. They are also expected to work closely with other members of the health care team in coordinating and managing care.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Child life specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Life Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $55,201 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $96,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | L.E.K. Consulting | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a child life specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Child Life Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between child life specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Child Life Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |