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The differences between community advocates and community support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a community advocate and a community support specialist. Additionally, a community support specialist has an average salary of $39,320, which is higher than the $35,900 average annual salary of a community advocate.
The top three skills for a community advocate include community resources, community outreach and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a community support specialist are social work, mental health, and rehabilitation.
| Community Advocate | Community Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $35,900 | $39,320 |
| Hourly rate | $17.26 | $18.90 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 36,520 | 111,431 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
The task of a community advocate is to provide advocacy and lobby for change or development within neighborhoods. Community advocates collaborate with a certain population like battered women or the deaf affected by environmental contamination. The advocates guide and assist on the hotline to make sure that every individual gets necessary guidance, safety plans, and resources. They provide crisis intervention or management with shelter residents. Also, they ensure confidentiality and legal compliance integrity based on corporate policy.
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.
Community advocates and community support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Advocate | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $35,900 | $39,320 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $43,000 | Between $27,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Boston Medical Center | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a community advocate and a community support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Community Advocate | Community Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Binghamton | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between community advocates' and community support specialists' demographics:
| Community Advocate | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2% | Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 24.6% Asian, 5.9% White, 49.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% | 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 | 11% | 11% |