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Facilitator vs learning specialist

The differences between facilitators and learning specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a facilitator and a learning specialist. Additionally, a learning specialist has an average salary of $57,035, which is higher than the $44,851 average annual salary of a facilitator.

The top three skills for a facilitator include patients, customer service and facilitators. The most important skills for a learning specialist are customer service, professional development, and project management.

Facilitator vs learning specialist overview

FacilitatorLearning Specialist
Yearly salary$44,851$57,035
Hourly rate$21.56$27.42
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs30,47438,229
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a facilitator do?

A facilitator is responsible for assisting a group event or program, ensuring that the participants coordinate well. Facilitators also monitor that the objectives of the event are smoothly delivered and organized. An effective facilitator requires having strong communication and leadership skills to manage the participants' concerns and inquiries, including active participation in group discussions and designing engaging activities and processes. Facilitators also assist with planning and finalizing the timetable and setting the specific house rules and regulations for everyone's compliance.

What does a learning specialist do?

Learning specialists are highly skilled teachers providing educational support to students who struggle academically at schools. They are responsible for working closely with students and their parents to develop a learning strategy suitable for a student's learning style to improve their grades and academic progress. Other responsibilities of a learning specialist include educating teachers and parents on learning differences, communicating with teachers and parents regularly about a student's progress, and keeping abreast of current teaching methods.

Facilitator vs learning specialist salary

Facilitators and learning specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

FacilitatorLearning Specialist
Average salary$44,851$57,035
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $69,000Between $37,000 And $87,000
Highest paying CitySayreville, NJNewark, NJ
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyAppleMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingInsurance

Differences between facilitator and learning specialist education

There are a few differences between a facilitator and a learning specialist in terms of educational background:

FacilitatorLearning Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorPsychologyBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Facilitator vs learning specialist demographics

Here are the differences between facilitators' and learning specialists' demographics:

FacilitatorLearning Specialist
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 37.3% Female, 62.7%Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 5.9% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between facilitator and learning specialist duties and responsibilities

Facilitator example responsibilities.

  • Lead workshops for engineering courses: calculus, statics and thermodynamics.
  • Manage procurement and employment of training aids and devices and ammunition along with require logistical support.
  • Analyze online learning experience and achieve improvement through implementing use of social networking, interactive PowerPoint and additional software.
  • Provide software and hardware support for network, PC, and Macintosh systems.
  • Work with truancy kids identify by the schools; present various life skills workshops as well as tutor math and chemistry.
  • Tutor freshmen engineering students in calculus, chemistry and physics
  • Show more

Learning specialist example responsibilities.

  • Lead strategic planning for eLearning initiatives and manage company-wide training for laboratory information system update.
  • Manage the integration of the student information system Jenzabar CX/JICS with Moodle.
  • Lead experiential learning in supervisory skills, conflict management, leadership, team building and organization process effectiveness.
  • Instruct on how to create PowerPoint presentations and debate an argument during an oral defense.
  • Develop individualized education plans for students who receive math intervention services.
  • Tutor and advise undergraduate level courses in introductory statistics and mathematics.
  • Show more

Facilitator vs learning specialist skills

Common facilitator skills
  • Patients, 10%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Facilitators, 10%
  • Social Work, 8%
  • Mental Health, 6%
  • Classroom Management, 5%
Common learning specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Professional Development, 6%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Instructional Design, 4%

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