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The differences between health fitness specialists and life skills instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a health fitness specialist and a life skills instructor. Additionally, a health fitness specialist has an average salary of $37,089, which is higher than the $30,844 average annual salary of a life skills instructor.
The top three skills for a health fitness specialist include customer service, health fitness and administrative tasks. The most important skills for a life skills instructor are developmental disabilities, CPR, and kids.
| Health Fitness Specialist | Life Skills Instructor | |
| Yearly salary | $37,089 | $30,844 |
| Hourly rate | $17.83 | $14.83 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 57,379 | 64,039 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A health fitness specialist's role is to promote fitness through different strategies and health programs. Their responsibilities mostly revolve around researching and developing exercise routines for various people, conducting fitness training sessions for small or large groups, assisting clients in their fitness goals, and ensuring a safe and healthy environment for all clients. Moreover, a health fitness specialist may provide private training sessions at home, to clients who are recovering from ailments or injuries, and even to private institutions such as universities and hospitals.
A life skills instructor advises people that are seeking support and coaching. They are responsible for helping them learn and develop skills like doing day-to-day tasks, interacting with other people, caring for themselves, as well as doing basic duties. Also, they can offer to coach for playing sports, learning new things, doing different exercises, and tips for employment.
Health fitness specialists and life skills instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Fitness Specialist | Life Skills Instructor | |
| Average salary | $37,089 | $30,844 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $21,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | Norwich, CT |
| Highest paying state | California | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | STG International | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Professional |
There are a few differences between a health fitness specialist and a life skills instructor in terms of educational background:
| Health Fitness Specialist | Life Skills Instructor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between health fitness specialists' and life skills instructors' demographics:
| Health Fitness Specialist | Life Skills Instructor | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.3% Female, 58.7% | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |