Customer specialist vs customer care associate

The differences between customer 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 specialist and a customer care associate. Additionally, a customer specialist has an average salary of $38,371, which is higher than the $33,115 average annual salary of a customer care associate.

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

Customer specialist vs customer care associate overview

	Customer Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Yearly salary	$38,371	$33,115
Hourly rate	$18.45	$15.92
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	202,965	250,296
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	12	12

What does a customer specialist do?

A customer specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their needs and concerns about the products and services offered by the company, addressing their inquiries timely and accurately. Customer specialists evaluate the customers' issues and provide immediate solutions through remote communication. In some cases, a customer specialist may send technical staff to the customer's location for problems that cannot be resolved over the phone or e-mail. They also take orders from the customers, process their payments, and explain the features and functions of the product.

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 specialist vs customer care associate salary

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

	Customer Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Average salary	$38,371	$33,115
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $66,000	Between $24,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Diego, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	AbbVie	Centennial Bank
Best paying industry	-	Insurance

Differences between customer specialist and customer care associate education

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

	Customer Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Customer specialist vs customer care associate demographics

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

	Customer Specialist	Customer Care Associate
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5%	Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.3% 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 specialist and customer care associate duties and responsibilities

Customer specialist example 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.
Process all new patient referrals as assigned and verifying that all the necessary requirements are meet according to Medicare s guidelines.
Prepare and process documents and correspondence for Medicare audit.

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 specialist vs customer care associate skills

Common customer specialist skills

Customer Transactions, 11%
Client Facing, 8%
Phone Calls, 7%
Customer Loyalty, 6%
Related Training, 6%
Customer Service, 5%

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 Specialist
Customer Specialist vs Customer Care Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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