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Curriculum developer vs learning specialist

The differences between curriculum developers and learning 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 curriculum developer and a learning specialist. Additionally, a learning specialist has an average salary of $57,035, which is higher than the $53,226 average annual salary of a curriculum developer.

The top three skills for a curriculum developer include instructional design, curriculum development and training materials. The most important skills for a learning specialist are customer service, professional development, and project management.

Curriculum developer vs learning specialist overview

Curriculum DeveloperLearning Specialist
Yearly salary$53,226$57,035
Hourly rate$25.59$27.42
Growth rate7%8%
Number of jobs73,27438,229
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a curriculum developer do?

A curriculum developer is responsible for managing instructional materials, providing recommendations to the teachers, and making adjustments to the current student's curriculum to adhere to the highest educational standards and policies. Curriculum developers also facilitate and offer assistance for any implemented procedures. They also manage and address concerns regarding the learning standards and consider recommendations for curriculum improvement. A curriculum developer must have extensive knowledge of the education system to plan out the necessary teachers' training and coaching.

What does a learning specialist do?

Learning specialists are highly skilled teachers providing educational support to students who struggle academically at schools. They are responsible for working closely with students and their parents to develop a learning strategy suitable for a student's learning style to improve their grades and academic progress. Other responsibilities of a learning specialist include educating teachers and parents on learning differences, communicating with teachers and parents regularly about a student's progress, and keeping abreast of current teaching methods.

Curriculum developer vs learning specialist salary

Curriculum developers and learning specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Curriculum DeveloperLearning Specialist
Average salary$53,226$57,035
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $78,000Between $37,000 And $87,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCNewark, NJ
Highest paying stateConnecticutNew Jersey
Best paying companyGoogleMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyInsurance

Differences between curriculum developer and learning specialist education

There are a few differences between a curriculum developer and a learning specialist in terms of educational background:

Curriculum DeveloperLearning Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaNorthwestern University

Curriculum developer vs learning specialist demographics

Here are the differences between curriculum developers' and learning specialists' demographics:

Curriculum DeveloperLearning Specialist
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 46.5% Female, 53.5%Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.5% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage16%12%

Differences between curriculum developer and learning specialist duties and responsibilities

Curriculum developer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the university's LMS system including a full lifecycle implementation of Moodle.
  • Map vertical and horizontal CCSS alignment across ELA curriculum and lead revision of district curriculum.
  • Manage online area launches and coordinate with other developers and managers regarding launch windows and completion dates.
  • Lead the virtualization of military training exercises and provide periods of instruction using virtual simulations.
  • Lecture on web-basics such as: HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, MySQL etc.
  • Utilize HTML, CSS and JavaScript to develop web-base elementary school level courses.
  • Show more

Learning specialist example responsibilities.

  • Lead strategic planning for eLearning initiatives and manage company-wide training for laboratory information system update.
  • Manage the integration of the student information system Jenzabar CX/JICS with Moodle.
  • Lead experiential learning in supervisory skills, conflict management, leadership, team building and organization process effectiveness.
  • Instruct on how to create PowerPoint presentations and debate an argument during an oral defense.
  • Develop individualized education plans for students who receive math intervention services.
  • Tutor and advise undergraduate level courses in introductory statistics and mathematics.
  • Show more

Curriculum developer vs learning specialist skills

Common curriculum developer skills
  • Instructional Design, 8%
  • Curriculum Development, 8%
  • Training Materials, 7%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 6%
  • Java, 6%
  • Course Content, 4%
Common learning specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Professional Development, 6%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Instructional Design, 4%

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