Post job

Clinician vs assessment specialist

The differences between clinicians and assessment specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a clinician and an assessment specialist. Additionally, an assessment specialist has an average salary of $64,402, which is higher than the $60,150 average annual salary of a clinician.

The top three skills for a clinician include social work, patients and patient care. The most important skills for an assessment specialist are social work, patients, and edition.

Clinician vs assessment specialist overview

ClinicianAssessment Specialist
Yearly salary$60,150$64,402
Hourly rate$28.92$30.96
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs105,02390,625
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4545
Years of experience44

What does a clinician do?

A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.

What does an assessment specialist do?

An assessment specialist is an administrative professional who is responsible for designing and conducting assessment tests for a variety of academic clients. Assessment specialists are required to coordinate and implement the student testing program, which includes assessing an individual child's needs, potentials, and limitations. They must monitor special education or talent and gifted (TAG) staff to ensure that objectives are met. Assessment specialists must also need to know state laws and federal that pertain to educational assessments.

Clinician vs assessment specialist salary

Clinicians and assessment specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

ClinicianAssessment Specialist
Average salary$60,150$64,402
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $103,000Between $47,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CATrenton, NJ
Highest paying stateNevadaNew Jersey
Best paying companyPace UniversityMicrosoft
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between clinician and assessment specialist education

There are a few differences between a clinician and an assessment specialist in terms of educational background:

ClinicianAssessment Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachUniversity of Pennsylvania

Clinician vs assessment specialist demographics

Here are the differences between clinicians' and assessment specialists' demographics:

ClinicianAssessment Specialist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 24.3% Female, 75.7%Male, 31.6% Female, 68.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage15%15%

Differences between clinician and assessment specialist duties and responsibilities

Clinician example responsibilities.

  • Perform thorough substance abuse assessments incorporating instruments such as ASAM, SASSI and urine drug screens; provide individual therapy.
  • Spearhead the development of rehabilitation programs serving adults with chemical dependency and mental health diagnoses with the manager.
  • Follow all ethical CARF standards when treating the residential client.
  • Facilitate stabilization, assessment, care and compassion for those in critical need.
  • Provide CBT and motivational interviewing for individual and group therapy to clients' who are on methadone.
  • Used motivational interviewing to lead recovery and therapy groups for IOP and PHP programs in the evenings and on weekends.
  • Show more

Assessment specialist example responsibilities.

  • Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
  • Collaborate with clinical staff regarding patient care during testing and any accommodations or adjustments require for patients being test.
  • Work with school assessment coordinators; train and evaluate staff.
  • Examine EMR documentation to determine resident's needs as required by CMS' MDS regulations.
  • Comply with CMS guidelines for Medicaid residents for admission, quarterly and significant change updates as appropriate.
  • Research and create original content for monthly SOE meetings; PowerPoint with synchronous live web camera interactions with faculty.
  • Show more

Clinician vs assessment specialist skills

Common clinician skills
  • Social Work, 26%
  • Patients, 14%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Individual Therapy, 4%
  • Mental Health, 4%
  • Mental Illness, 3%
Common assessment specialist skills
  • Social Work, 21%
  • Patients, 18%
  • Edition, 7%
  • Professional Development, 3%
  • Mental Health Assessments, 3%
  • Crisis Intervention, 3%

Browse community and social services jobs