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The differences between economic development specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an economic development specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $52,511 average annual salary of an economic development specialist.
The top three skills for an economic development specialist include medicaid, economic development and strong work ethic. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Economic Development Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $52,511 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $25.25 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,091 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
An economic development specialist helps ailing and needing communities to grow and have more opportunities for its citizens. They do this by first assessing the community for its needs. They create surveys and questionnaires to help in acquiring and recording data. Through the data gathered and analyzed, together with a team of economists, they can formulate developmental plans. They also talk to social workers for help and implement the plan, monitoring for both negative and positive effects continuously. They also offer hands-on training and seminars to improve community skills further.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Economic development specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Economic Development Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $52,511 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $82,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between an economic development specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Economic Development Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between economic development specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Economic Development Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 11% |