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The differences between contact agents and representatives 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 representative. Additionally, a representative has an average salary of $36,023, 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 representative are cleanliness, patients, and customer issues.
| Contact Agent | Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $28,301 | $36,023 |
| Hourly rate | $13.61 | $17.32 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 209,089 | 252,761 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| 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.
Representatives are lawmakers who represent the people in a specific district. They run for office to represent their districts in their hometown or their current place of living. Representatives are usually charismatic and good communicators. These characteristics are especially important during campaign and election periods. Representatives should be able to capture the hearts of the voters through their planned projects and advocacies. They are then elected by their constituents. Upon election, representatives author bills that will eventually be passed into law should it be approved by the majority of the congress. They also vote on the passage of bills authored by other representatives. They also participate in discussions and debates regarding different bills, issues, and laws. Representatives are expected to vote according to their conscience and in consideration of the voice of their constituents.
Contact agents and representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contact Agent | Representative | |
| Average salary | $28,301 | $36,023 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $36,000 | Between $23,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milwaukee, WI | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New York |
| Best paying company | Idaho Central Credit Union | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a contact agent and a representative in terms of educational background:
| Contact Agent | Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between contact agents' and representatives' demographics:
| Contact Agent | Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.4% Female, 66.6% | Male, 41.8% Female, 58.2% |
| 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, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |