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The differences between contact agents and customer care 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 contact agent and a customer care specialist. Additionally, a customer care specialist has an average salary of $32,427, 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 a customer care specialist are customer care, customer service, and outbound calls.
| Contact Agent | Customer Care Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $28,301 | $32,427 |
| Hourly rate | $13.61 | $15.59 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 209,089 | 260,027 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 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.
A customer care specialist is responsible for assisting the customers with their inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services offered by the organization. A customer care specialist must be detail-oriented, as well as have excellent communication and time-management skills in responding to the customers' needs while documenting the processes on a specific computer program. Customer care specialists are responsible for processing payments, replacing defective items, and initiating refunds as needed. They must resolve complaints accurately and efficiently to ensure customer satisfaction to keep a good reputation for the organization.
Contact agents and customer care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contact Agent | Customer Care Specialist | |
| Average salary | $28,301 | $32,427 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $36,000 | Between $26,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milwaukee, WI | Grand Forks, ND |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Idaho Central Credit Union | Axogen |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a contact agent and a customer care specialist in terms of educational background:
| Contact Agent | Customer Care Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between contact agents' and customer care specialists' demographics:
| Contact Agent | Customer Care Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.4% Female, 66.6% | Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8% |
| 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, 12.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.5% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |