What is a customer specialist and how to become one

Q: How much do customer service specialists make?

Customer service specialists make between $29,000 to $37,000 annually, or between $14 -19 an hour. It's considered an entry-level position that requires minimum education and no experience.

Q: Is customer service specialist a good job?

Yes, being a customer service specialist is a good job if you enjoy a steady flow of interaction with people. Customer service specialists often work in call centers or remotely, helping to serve or resolve customer issues.

Q: What is a customer care specialist's job description?

A customer care specialist's job description consists of a person who answers and addresses a customer's questions or complaints about their company's products or services. Customer care specialists are also often required to keep documentation of all customer interactions with the support team.

Q: What is a customer service specialist's job description?

A customer service specialist's job description consists of a person who answers and addresses customers' questions or complaints. Generally, customer service specialists provide a higher level of customer support than customer service.

Q: What is a customer specialist?

A customer care specialist is the first person a customer speaks with when they need to resolve an issue. Customer specialists may deal with customers having a variety of problems, including but not limited to:

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Sally Hiott B.S. MBA, DBA

Customer specialists handle customer inquiries, complaints and feedback, while working in various industries such as retail, hospitality, banking, and telecommunications. Customer specialists are responsible for providing excellent customer service by addressing customers' concerns and resolving issues to their satisfaction. Additionally, customer specialists manage customer accounts, process orders, and handle returns or refunds. They possess strong communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and a friendly demeanor. These roles are crucial in maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty for a business.

What general advice would you give to a customer specialist?

Sally Hiott B.S. MBA, DBA

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Charleston Southern University

Show employers how you would not only fill an open position regarding the work at hand, but show them how you would be an asset to their team. We are in very team driven work environments currently, and hiring managers want to know what you can bring to the table. Filling a void is great for the workload, but enhancing a team culture makes them not want to work without you!

ScoreCustomer SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,371

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.74%

Asian 7.55%

Black or African American 11.07%

Hispanic or Latino 19.90%

Unknown 5.45%

White 55.29%

Gender

female 57.55%

male 42.45%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a customer specialist?

Pros

Exposure to different industries and products
Flexible work schedule
Chance to work remotely
Opportunities for training and development
Opportunity to make a difference in customer satisfaction

Cons

High stress and pressure to meet performance goals
Limited control over company policies and procedures
Repetitive tasks can be monotonous
Inconsistent work schedule or shift changes
Limited opportunities for creativity or innovation in role

Key steps to become a customer specialist

Explore customer specialist education requirements

Most common customer specialist degrees

Bachelor's

53.7 %

Associate

19.6 %

High School Diploma

15.6 %

Start to develop specific customer specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Transactions	10.54%
Client Facing	8.06%
Phone Calls	6.91%
Customer Loyalty	6.37%
Related Training	5.61%

Complete relevant customer specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New customer specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a customer specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real customer specialist resumes.

Research customer specialist duties and responsibilities

Create powerpoint presentations as well as presented.
Used a CRM tool effectively to track all customer interactions and setup follow up.
Identify or create customer wants and needs and offer solutions/benefits to upsell new or additional services.
Install, remove, rearrange, program, test, troubleshoot and maintain fiber and copper network services.

Prepare your customer specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your customer specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a customer specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable customer specialist resume templates

Build a professional customer specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your customer specialist resume.