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Expert vs specialist

The differences between experts and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an expert has an average salary of $94,068, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.

The top three skills for an expert include sales floor, strong customer service and product knowledge. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

Expert vs specialist overview

ExpertSpecialist
Yearly salary$94,068$58,013
Hourly rate$45.23$27.89
Growth rate-10%
Number of jobs11,893358,433
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4142
Years of experience-2

What does an expert do?

An expert has extensive knowledge on a subject gained from a significant amount of experience. Although the tasks will vary on the line of work or organization, an expert's role will often revolve around sharing expertise through discussion, evaluation, and influencing. There's also an opportunity for teaching, training, selling, and even promoting. Being an expert requires a great deal of communication and coordination; the duties will always involve engaging with other people and building rapport.

What does a specialist do?

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.

Expert vs specialist salary

Experts and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

ExpertSpecialist
Average salary$94,068$58,013
Salary rangeBetween $54,000 And $161,000Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyMcKinsey & Company IncThe Citadel
Best paying industry--

Differences between expert and specialist education

There are a few differences between an expert and a specialist in terms of educational background:

ExpertSpecialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-Stanford University

Expert vs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between experts' and specialists' demographics:

ExpertSpecialist
Average age4142
Gender ratioMale, 55.6% Female, 44.4%Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 8.3% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 Percentage7%11%

Differences between expert and specialist duties and responsibilities

Expert example responsibilities.

  • Manage full life cycle development / deployment of focuse business intelligence solutions (SDLC).
  • Manage 20 Lean/Six sigma projects in 2005 enabling annualize savings of $1.42 MM vs. goal of 1.2 MM.
  • Develop talent management plans, set goals, and provide motivation to achieve client and program objectives (KPI's).
  • Manage back-end operations to ensure quality and timely delivery of product.
  • Manage transition logistics for a global vehicle financing company downsizing operations in Colorado.
  • Manipulate or correct color in scan images using Photoshop for the purpose of digitalprinting or platemaking.
  • Show more

Specialist example responsibilities.

  • Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
  • Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
  • Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
  • Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
  • Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
  • Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).
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Expert vs specialist skills

Common expert skills
  • Sales Floor, 16%
  • Strong Customer Service, 11%
  • Product Knowledge, 8%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • POS, 5%
  • Customer Loyalty, 4%
Common specialist skills
  • Patients, 15%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Work Ethic, 5%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Exceptional Client, 4%
  • Troubleshoot, 4%