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The differences between customer service associates and customer service specialists 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 service associate and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a customer service specialist has an average salary of $33,238, which is higher than the $31,709 average annual salary of a customer service associate.
The top three skills for a customer service associate include patients, sales floor and plumbing. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $31,709 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $15.24 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 380,943 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Customer service associates are representatives of the company who are responsible for solving customer concerns. They provide exceptional service to clients to ensure that their problems are solved and that the relationship between the client and the company remains strong. Customer service associates are in-charge of processing transactions, maintaining a good working relationship between the client and the company, ensuring that the client remains loyal to the company, and working on the requests of the client. Through all of this, customer service associates must keep any information they may encounter confidential. They should also have time management skills, problem-solving skills, and customer service skills.
Customer service specialists are employees who are responsible for providing the best customer experience to customers, usually for after-sales transactions. They attend to customers' inquiries and provide answers to their questions on products or services that the company offers. They also address customer complaints and help mitigate the concerns by offering solutions such as instructions on how to fix defects, or processing replacements or refunds. Customer service specialists also listen to customer feedback and ensure that these are logged properly so that proper departments will be able to receive them.
Customer service associates and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $31,709 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $40,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Fidelity Investments | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer service associate and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service associates' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |