Customer care specialist vs customer care associate

The differences between customer care specialists and customer care associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer care specialist and a customer care associate. Additionally, a customer care associate has an average salary of $33,115, which is higher than the $32,427 average annual salary of a customer care specialist.

The top three skills for a customer care specialist include customer care, customer service and outbound calls. The most important skills for a customer care associate are customer care, patients, and customer service.

Customer care specialist vs customer care associate overview

	Customer Care Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Yearly salary	$32,427	$33,115
Hourly rate	$15.59	$15.92
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	260,027	250,296
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	12	12

What does a customer care specialist do?

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.

What does a customer care associate do?

A customer care associate's role focuses on providing customer support and service, ensuring optimal services and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities typically revolve around assisting walk-in customers by answering inquiries, offering recommendations or alternatives, and informing them of any promos or discounts. It is essential to devise strategies to identify customer needs, providing them as needed. Furthermore, a customer care associate may answer inquiries made through calls or correspondence, make reservations, handle complaints or concerns, and resolve them according to the company's policies and regulations.

Customer care specialist vs customer care associate salary

Customer care specialists and customer care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Customer Care Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Average salary	$32,427	$33,115
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Grand Forks, ND	San Diego, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	Axogen	Centennial Bank
Best paying industry	Insurance	Insurance

Differences between customer care specialist and customer care associate education

There are a few differences between a customer care specialist and a customer care associate in terms of educational background:

	Customer Care Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Customer care specialist vs customer care associate demographics

Here are the differences between customer care specialists' and customer care associates' demographics:

	Customer Care Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8%	Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between customer care specialist and customer care associate duties and responsibilities

Customer care specialist example responsibilities.

Continue to manage a high volume of customer calls relate to HMO, PPO and POS concerns.
Provide unbias assistance to Medicaid providers with questions regarding Medicaid patient eligibility, medical claims statuses and other program questions.
Present PowerPoint presentations in a webinar format that introduce new features and enhancements to self- service, e-commerce portal.
Authenticate callers before providing personal health information to avoid breaking HIPAA guidelines.
Verify then analyze and troubleshoot customer's questions regarding student loan disbursement procedures and banking accounts.
Maintain working knowledge of numerous product lines as well as policies to effectively troubleshoot and/or replace defective products

Customer care associate example responsibilities.

Continue to manage a high volume of customer calls relate to HMO, PPO and POS concerns.
Verify HIPAA member information, update members account, expedite payments, explain health and dental plan benefits options.
Answer inbound calls assisting customers with billing questions, troubleshoot for customers, and assist customers with service plans and upgrading packages
Receive inbound provider calls at a call center regarding patients medical insurance benefits and eligibility, edit and process Medicare claims.
Provide superior customer service to inbound calls from DirecTV customers regarding their schedule service/install appointment.

Customer care specialist vs customer care associate skills

Common customer care specialist skills

Customer Care, 25%
Customer Service, 13%
Outbound Calls, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
Troubleshoot, 3%
Inbound Phone Calls, 3%

Common customer care associate skills

Customer Care, 21%
Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 7%
Telephone Inquiries, 6%
Customer Support, 5%
Home Health, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Customer Care Specialist
Customer Care Specialist vs Customer Care Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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