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The differences between development specialists and project specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project specialist has an average salary of $65,993, which is higher than the $60,344 average annual salary of a development specialist.
The top three skills for a development specialist include customer service, customer satisfaction and professional development. The most important skills for a project specialist are customer service, project management, and project proposals.
| Development Specialist | Project Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $60,344 | $65,993 |
| Hourly rate | $29.01 | $31.73 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 97,188 | 99,583 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A development specialist is responsible for monitoring career training and programs for the employees, improving their capabilities and maximum potential to contribute to the company's growth and success. Development specialists also assist in assessing departmental operations, evaluating training needs, and facilitate skill development discussions and exercises. A development specialist helps identify business opportunities to generate more revenues for the organization and improve profitability status. A development specialist must have excellent communication and organization skills and comprehensive knowledge of human management to assist employees with their inquiries and concerns.
A project specialist's role is to ensure that a project or program's completion is within the allotted time and budget. They are primarily responsible for devising plans and strategies to quicken the pace of production or processes involved, creating a comprehensive schedule, monitoring the progress and producing reports, tracking the budget and expenditures, and coordinating with all department personnel. Moreover, a project specialist may also schedule and attend meetings, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
Development specialists and project specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Development Specialist | Project Specialist | |
| Average salary | $60,344 | $65,993 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $96,000 | Between $41,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Edison, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a development specialist and a project specialist in terms of educational background:
| Development Specialist | Project Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between development specialists' and project specialists' demographics:
| Development Specialist | Project Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.5% Female, 59.5% | Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 5.8% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 11% |