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The differences between contract researchers and product specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a contract researcher and a product specialist. Additionally, a product specialist has an average salary of $85,932, which is higher than the $50,230 average annual salary of a contract researcher.
The top three skills for a contract researcher include R, database management and data collection. The most important skills for a product specialist are customer service, product knowledge, and sales floor.
| Contract Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,230 | $85,932 |
| Hourly rate | $24.15 | $41.31 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 18,223 | 103,863 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A Contract Researcher provides research support services for various industries, such as pharmaceutical and biotechnology. They are contracted by companies to lead the company's trials, duties, and functions.
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
Contract researchers and product specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contract Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,230 | $85,932 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $122,000 | Between $56,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a contract researcher and a product specialist in terms of educational background:
| Contract Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between contract researchers' and product specialists' demographics:
| Contract Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5% | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |