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The differences between elementary educators 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 $38,957 average annual salary of an elementary educator.
The top three skills for an elementary educator include mathematics, math and elementary education. The most important skills for a special educator are autism, student learning, and math.
| Elementary Educator | Special Educator | |
| Yearly salary | $38,957 | $53,565 |
| Hourly rate | $18.73 | $25.75 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 32,900 | 62,545 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An Elementary Educator is mainly responsible for teaching basic academics among children while facilitating their social skills development. They are in charge of developing lesson plans and learning materials, organizing individual and group activities, creating quizzes and tests, utilizing audio and visual equipment, and developing strategies to meet the students' needs. They also monitor the students' academic progress and behavior, updating parents or guardians regularly. Moreover, an Elementary Educator develops various learning approaches while maintaining a safe and healthy classroom environment for everyone.
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.
Elementary educators and special educators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Elementary Educator | Special Educator | |
| Average salary | $38,957 | $53,565 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $56,000 | Between $38,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Oceanside, NY |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | New York |
| Best paying company | Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES | Capistrano Unified |
| Best paying industry | Education | Government |
There are a few differences between an elementary educator and a special educator in terms of educational background:
| Elementary Educator | Special Educator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Elementary Education | Special Education |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between elementary educators' and special educators' demographics:
| Elementary Educator | Special Educator | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.2% Female, 79.8% | Male, 21.3% Female, 78.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 9% | 8% |