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The differences between child support specialists and youth mentors 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 youth mentor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a child support specialist has an average salary of $38,271, which is higher than the $32,750 average annual salary of a youth mentor.
The top three skills for a child support specialist include customer service, social work and child support cases. The most important skills for a youth mentor are mental health, substance abuse, and eating disorders.
| Child Support Specialist | Youth Mentor | |
| Yearly salary | $38,271 | $32,750 |
| Hourly rate | $18.40 | $15.75 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 143,623 | 68,561 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| 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.
Youth mentors are adult individuals who are responsible for creating programs to improve the well-being of young people by providing role models that can support them academically and socially. These mentors must educate the community on issues related to mental health while making regular home visits to youth and young adults. They should provide direct care and assistance to adolescents who are with substance abuse issues by creating an educational curriculum on the said topic. Youth mentors are also required to collaborate with mental health professionals and social workers to coordinate counseling efforts.
Child support specialists and youth mentors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Support Specialist | Youth Mentor | |
| Average salary | $38,271 | $32,750 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $49,000 | Between $26,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rockville, MD | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Maine |
| Best paying company | University of Rochester | LifeWorks |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a child support specialist and a youth mentor in terms of educational background:
| Child Support Specialist | Youth Mentor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between child support specialists' and youth mentors' demographics:
| Child Support Specialist | Youth Mentor | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% | Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0% |
| 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, 11.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |