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The differences between economic development specialists and workforce development specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an economic development specialist and a workforce development specialist. Additionally, an economic development specialist has an average salary of $52,511, which is higher than the $43,666 average annual salary of a workforce 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 workforce development specialist are social services, training programs, and HR.
| Economic Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $52,511 | $43,666 |
| Hourly rate | $25.25 | $20.99 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 59,091 | 80,041 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A workforce development specialist is responsible for designing and conducting training and development programs to significantly improve organizational and individual performance. You will perform a few duties that include evaluating training delivery modes, such as virtual or in-person to optimize training effectiveness and costs, developing, obtaining, or organizing training guides and procedure manuals, and coordinating the placement of trainees. As a workforce development specialist, you also have to choose and assign training instructors and negotiating contracts with clients.
Economic development specialists and workforce development specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Economic Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average salary | $52,511 | $43,666 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $82,000 | Between $28,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Roseville, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Transportation |
There are a few differences between an economic development specialist and a workforce development specialist in terms of educational background:
| Economic Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between economic development specialists' and workforce development specialists' demographics:
| Economic Development Specialist | Workforce Development Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% | Male, 33.6% Female, 66.4% |
| 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, 11.6% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |