Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between health communication specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a health communication specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $49,493 average annual salary of a health communication specialist.
The top three skills for a health communication specialist include health education, patients and fact sheets. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Health Communication Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,493 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $23.79 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 54,007 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A health communication specialist is responsible for managing public health communications by disseminating information to various media platforms. Health communication specialists analyze the current medical trends and coordinate with medical professionals to gain more details and discuss health issues with the community. They also promote and share advice in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and development. A health communication specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to support the community people with their medical needs and concerns.
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.
Health communication specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Communication Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,493 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $71,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hillsboro, OR | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Centers For Disease Control And Prevention | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a health communication specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Health Communication Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Public Health | Business |
| Most common college | Georgetown University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between health communication specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Health Communication Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.9% Female, 71.1% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.6% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | 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% |