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The differences between contact agents and agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an agent has an average salary of $37,864, which is higher than the $28,301 average annual salary of a contact agent.
The top three skills for a contact agent include customer service, phone calls and patients. The most important skills for an agent are insurance products, customer service, and life insurance.
| Contact Agent | Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $28,301 | $37,864 |
| Hourly rate | $13.61 | $18.20 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 209,089 | 184,325 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
Contact agents are customer service professionals who handle emails, phone calls, and live chat messages. The agents assist customers with order inquiries, bills and payments, and support questions and complaints. These agents deal with technical support, inbound and outbound sales, and appointment bookings. They must ensure to handle an appropriate number of calls per day, resolve calls on the primary contact or refer them to the correct department, and log the call accurately against the customer's account.
Agents are individuals who are employed by their clients to represent them in various dealings. Agents are usually employed by people in the show business industry, such as actors, writers, or directors. They meet people who are interested in dealing with their clients. They listen to the plans and vision for the project and assess if the project fits their clients' interests or public image. In the case of agents whose clients are actors, they send their clients to auditions upon review of the project details. Agents are also responsible for negotiating terms on behalf of their clients, such as salary, royalties, and set benefits, among others. They also inform the project leaders of their clients' demands on set. Agents are expected to be business-savvy and good negotiators.
Contact agents and agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contact Agent | Agent | |
| Average salary | $28,301 | $37,864 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $36,000 | Between $19,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milwaukee, WI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New York |
| Best paying company | Idaho Central Credit Union | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a contact agent and an agent in terms of educational background:
| Contact Agent | Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between contact agents' and agents' demographics:
| Contact Agent | Agent | |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.4% Female, 66.6% | Male, 50.5% Female, 49.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 6.6% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 4.9% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |