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The differences between equal opportunity 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 equal opportunity specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an equal opportunity specialist has an average salary of $60,556, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.
The top three skills for an equal opportunity specialist include compliance reviews, complaint investigations and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Equal Opportunity Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $60,556 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $29.11 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 2,866 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
Equal opportunity specialists are responsible for ensuring compliance with policies, guidelines, and opportunity laws so that employment practices can provide equal opportunity without discriminating against national origin, race, religion, color, gender, disability, or age. Some duties and responsibilities include investigating employment practices and preparing reports related to investigations, monitoring the implementation of guidelines and their impact on nondiscriminatory employment practices, and acting as liaisons between employers and minority placement agencies or between equal opportunity administrators and job search committees. Skills required for this position include good analytical and problem-solving skills and excellent organizational skills with keen attention to detail to prepare and facilitate affirmative action plans.
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.
Equal opportunity specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Equal Opportunity Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $60,556 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $118,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between an equal opportunity specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Equal Opportunity Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between equal opportunity specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Equal Opportunity Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 59.5% 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 | 12% | 11% |