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The differences between child support specialists and child life specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a child support specialist, becoming a child life specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a child life specialist has an average salary of $55,201, which is higher than the $38,271 average annual salary of a child support specialist.
The top three skills for a child support specialist include customer service, social work and child support cases. The most important skills for a child life specialist are patients, child development, and patient care.
| Child Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $38,271 | $55,201 |
| Hourly rate | $18.40 | $26.54 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 143,623 | 90,517 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A child support specialist is primarily in charge of monitoring child support payments, ensuring individuals with financial obligations comply with the legal settlement terms. They mainly work in the legal industry, where their responsibilities include assessing the clients' financial situations, gathering and analyzing financial statements, performing interviews and follow-up calls, and producing regular progress reports. Furthermore, as a child support specialist, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions and procedures, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
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.
Child support specialists and child life specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Average salary | $38,271 | $55,201 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $49,000 | Between $31,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rockville, MD | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | University of Rochester | L.E.K. Consulting |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a child support specialist and a child life specialist in terms of educational background:
| Child Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between child support specialists' and child life specialists' demographics:
| Child Support Specialist | Child Life Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |