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The differences between early intervention specialists and special educators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a special educator has an average salary of $53,565, 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 special educator are autism, student learning, and math.
| Early Intervention Specialist | Special Educator | |
| Yearly salary | $46,103 | $53,565 |
| Hourly rate | $22.16 | $25.75 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 22,033 | 62,545 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
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.
A special education teacher's role is to facilitate learning for students with disabilities. The responsibilities of a special education teacher typically revolve around identifying the needs of students, devising lesson plans and strategies to meet their needs, developing test structure to assess their learning, and assisting them in areas of difficulties. It is also essential to coordinate with families and guardians, reporting to them should there be any problems. Furthermore, as a special education teacher, it is necessary to monitor the students' progress and behavior, maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for them.
Early intervention specialists and special educators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Early Intervention Specialist | Special Educator | |
| Average salary | $46,103 | $53,565 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $70,000 | Between $38,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Oceanside, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Children's Hospital Los Angeles | Capistrano Unified |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Government |
There are a few differences between an early intervention specialist and a special educator in terms of educational background:
| Early Intervention Specialist | Special Educator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Special Education |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between early intervention specialists' and special educators' demographics:
| Early Intervention Specialist | Special Educator | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.0% Female, 87.0% | Male, 21.3% Female, 78.7% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 3.6% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 8% |