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The differences between child life specialists and teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a child life specialist has an average salary of $55,201, which is higher than the $47,989 average annual salary of a teacher.
The top three skills for a child life specialist include patients, child development and patient care. The most important skills for a teacher are ESL, handle scheduling, and kids.
| Child Life Specialist | Teacher | |
| Yearly salary | $55,201 | $47,989 |
| Hourly rate | $26.54 | $23.07 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 90,517 | 71,918 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.14 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
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.
Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world. Every teacher is unique and has their own teaching styles and methods depending on the subject they teach and the age of their students. Oftentimes they also function as a parent, counselor, coach, friend, and even a lawmaker. There is essentially no limit to the roles a teacher portrays.
Child life specialists and teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Life Specialist | Teacher | |
| Average salary | $55,201 | $47,989 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $96,000 | Between $32,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Baltimore, MD |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | L.E.K. Consulting | King Low Heywood Thomas |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between a child life specialist and a teacher in terms of educational background:
| Child Life Specialist | Teacher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Elementary Education |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between child life specialists' and teachers' demographics:
| Child Life Specialist | Teacher | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 25.7% Female, 74.3% |
| 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, 10.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |