Early intervention specialist vs social worker

The differences between early intervention specialists and social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an early intervention specialist, becoming a social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a social worker has an average salary of $50,102, which is higher than the $46,103 average annual salary of an early intervention specialist.

The top three skills for an early intervention specialist include early intervention, developmental disabilities and applied behavior analysis. The most important skills for a social worker are social work, patients, and patient care.

Early intervention specialist vs social worker overview

	Early Intervention Specialist	Social Worker
Yearly salary	$46,103	$50,102
Hourly rate	$22.16	$24.09
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	22,033	77,340
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	42	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does an early intervention specialist do?

Early intervention specialists are responsible for determining and helping youth who are manifesting deficiencies in the fundamental areas of learning. They are trained teachers who work with youngsters between birth and age four to direct developmental impediments. Also, they have an essential role in bridging children and their families with other social service workers. Their jobs include carefully evaluating the child, establishing developmental goals, creating medication plans, recommending learning activities, and keeping track of the child's progress.

What does a social worker do?

Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.

Early intervention specialist vs social worker salary

Early intervention specialists and social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Early Intervention Specialist	Social Worker
Average salary	$46,103	$50,102
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $70,000	Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Oregon
Best paying company	Children's Hospital Los Angeles	Health Advocates
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between early intervention specialist and social worker education

There are a few differences between an early intervention specialist and a social worker in terms of educational background:

	Early Intervention Specialist	Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Early intervention specialist vs social worker demographics

Here are the differences between early intervention specialists' and social workers' demographics:

	Early Intervention Specialist	Social Worker
Average age	42	45
Gender ratio	Male, 13.0% Female, 87.0%	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	10%	13%

Differences between early intervention specialist and social worker duties and responsibilities

Early intervention specialist example responsibilities.

Experience training new staff on basic ABA principles and new cases.
Strive to reduce symptoms of specify developmental disorder, usually an autism spectrum disorder.
Train paraprofessionals to work with children on the autism spectrum and implement picture schedules for optimal learning.
Instruct families on how to use adaptive equipment or help them use the tool in their environment.
Coordinate services for child base on recommendations specific educational needs, including specialize adaptive equipment and individual therapies.
Coordinate with local special education preschool child find teams evaluations and IEP meetings.

Social worker example responsibilities.

Assist clients in achieving treatment goals such as anger, ADHD, grief, social skills, and manners.
Lead and co-le CBT and DBT skills-base groups with participants, as well as relapse prevention, mindfulness and process groups.
Support patient questions and issues regarding Medicare ESRD entitlement and Medicaid and assist in the completion of the appropriate documentation.
Coordinate IPU discharge planning patients to SNF, ALF, PCH or in-home care with necessary support for care.
Facilitate relationships with AKF and other patient assistance programs, VA, Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance providers.
Complete Medicaid and Medicare applications as needed.

Early intervention specialist vs social worker skills

Common early intervention specialist skills

Early Intervention, 17%
Developmental Disabilities, 11%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 9%
Child Development, 7%
Social Development, 7%
Emotional Development, 7%

Common social worker skills

Social Work, 30%
Patients, 15%
Patient Care, 5%
MSW, 4%
Discharge Planning, 4%
Home Health, 4%

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Early Intervention Specialist
Early Intervention Specialist vs Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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