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The differences between community development specialists and workforce development 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 community development specialist and a workforce development specialist. Additionally, a workforce development specialist has an average salary of $43,666, which is higher than the $39,476 average annual salary of a community development specialist.
The top three skills for a community development specialist include event planning, community outreach and lead generation. The most important skills for a workforce development specialist are social services, training programs, and HR.
| Community Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $39,476 | $43,666 |
| Hourly rate | $18.98 | $20.99 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 67,756 | 80,041 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A community development specialist is in charge of designing and developing affordable housing programs for home buyers and shelter plans for the homeless. They typically work at government agencies, often functioning in collaboration with social services. Among their other responsibilities include performing extensive research and analysis, liaising with external parties and plan providers, finding sponsorships and fundings, and developing assessment reports. They may also assist clients by answering their inquiries, assisting them with filling out forms, gathering requirements, and explaining the extent of procedures.
A workforce development specialist is responsible for designing and conducting training and development programs to significantly improve organizational and individual performance. You will perform a few duties that include evaluating training delivery modes, such as virtual or in-person to optimize training effectiveness and costs, developing, obtaining, or organizing training guides and procedure manuals, and coordinating the placement of trainees. As a workforce development specialist, you also have to choose and assign training instructors and negotiating contracts with clients.
Community development specialists and workforce development specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average salary | $39,476 | $43,666 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $61,000 | Between $28,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Trenton, NJ | Roseville, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Fifth Third Bank | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a community development specialist and a workforce development specialist in terms of educational background:
| Community Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between community development specialists' and workforce development specialists' demographics:
| Community Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5% | Male, 33.6% Female, 66.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.9% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |