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The differences between eligibility specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an eligibility specialist and a specialist. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $37,322 average annual salary of an eligibility specialist.
The top three skills for an eligibility specialist include medicaid, patients and provide technical assistance. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Eligibility Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,322 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $17.94 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 19,944 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An eligibility specialist is responsible for reviewing applicants' documents to verify their eligibility for qualifying for various organization programs. Eligibility specialists organize files accurately, communicate with other institutions for fact-checking, follow-up with the applicants for missing requirements, respond to the applicants' inquiries and concerns, and recommend alternatives, especially for financial assistance. An eligibility specialist must have excellent communication and record-keeping skills and extensive knowledge of the aid programs and company policies for processing applications.
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.
Eligibility specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Eligibility Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,322 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $45,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chicago, IL | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Iowa | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | CBIZ | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between an eligibility specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Eligibility Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between eligibility specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Eligibility Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.1% Female, 81.9% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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 | 7% | 11% |