Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between course developers and workforce development specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a course developer and a workforce development specialist. Additionally, a course developer has an average salary of $92,160, which is higher than the $43,666 average annual salary of a workforce development specialist.
The top three skills for a course developer include instructional design, course content and course materials. The most important skills for a workforce development specialist are social services, training programs, and HR.
| Course Developer | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $92,160 | $43,666 |
| Hourly rate | $44.31 | $20.99 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 75,889 | 80,041 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A course developer specializes in developing and implementing course plans for educational programs. They are responsible for conducting industry research, conducting skills assessments to identify a company's training needs, creating plans and strategies, establishing timelines, developing programs, and securing supplies. Additionally, they must monitor the progress of a company's educational programs to make adjustments as needed.
A workforce development specialist is responsible for designing and conducting training and development programs to significantly improve organizational and individual performance. You will perform a few duties that include evaluating training delivery modes, such as virtual or in-person to optimize training effectiveness and costs, developing, obtaining, or organizing training guides and procedure manuals, and coordinating the placement of trainees. As a workforce development specialist, you also have to choose and assign training instructors and negotiating contracts with clients.
Course developers and workforce development specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Course Developer | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average salary | $92,160 | $43,666 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $128,000 | Between $28,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chicago, IL | Roseville, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Udacity | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a course developer and a workforce development specialist in terms of educational background:
| Course Developer | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between course developers' and workforce development specialists' demographics:
| Course Developer | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5% | Male, 33.6% Female, 66.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |