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The differences between child support specialists and community support 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 community support specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a community support specialist has an average salary of $39,320, 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 community support specialist are social work, mental health, and rehabilitation.
| Child Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $38,271 | $39,320 |
| Hourly rate | $18.40 | $18.90 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 143,623 | 111,431 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| 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.
A community support specialist is responsible for supporting and providing care services for citizens with mental health conditions and other medical illnesses. Community support specialists coordinate with organizations and health institutions to generate resources that would help the patients in their daily activities, medications, and treatment plans. They also strategize community events and activities to observe the patients' social and personal behaviors and endorse them to a mental health professional for in-depth examination and counseling.
Child support specialists and community support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $38,271 | $39,320 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $49,000 | Between $27,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rockville, MD | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | University of Rochester | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Government | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a child support specialist and a community support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Child Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between child support specialists' and community support specialists' demographics:
| Child Support Specialist | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% | Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2% |
| 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, 12.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.0% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |