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The differences between community program assistants 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 program assistant and a community support specialist. Additionally, a community support specialist has an average salary of $39,320, which is higher than the $35,093 average annual salary of a community program assistant.
The top three skills for a community program assistant include phone calls, data entry and public health. The most important skills for a community support specialist are social work, mental health, and rehabilitation.
| Community Program Assistant | Community Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $35,093 | $39,320 |
| Hourly rate | $16.87 | $18.90 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 123,129 | 111,431 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Community program assistants provide administrative support by answering phone calls and answering emails and processing paperwork. The assistants establish training documents, perform data entry, and conduct research. They do fundamental administrative tasks like managing and filing schedules. It is part of their job to assist in planning events and giving budget oversight. Among the skills that are necessary for this job include customer service, human resources, data entry, special education, and communication.
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 program assistants and community support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Program Assistant | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $35,093 | $39,320 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $43,000 | Between $27,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | Brick, NJ | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Ilitch Holdings | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Education | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a community program assistant and a community support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Community Program Assistant | Community Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between community program assistants' and community support specialists' demographics:
| Community Program Assistant | Community Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.9% Female, 76.1% | Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 7.3% White, 52.4% 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% |