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The differences between health program specialists and clinical externships 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 program specialist, becoming a clinical externship takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a health program specialist has an average salary of $48,114, which is higher than the $35,831 average annual salary of a clinical externship.
The top three skills for a health program specialist include health education, data collection and patients. The most important skills for a clinical externship are patients, mental health, and patient care.
| Health Program Specialist | Clinical Externship | |
| Yearly salary | $48,114 | $35,831 |
| Hourly rate | $23.13 | $17.23 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 114,825 | 63,061 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A health program specialist is in charge of planning and developing health programs in communities or facilities. Their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify client needs, gathering and analyzing data, spearheading different activities that promote healthy lifestyles, assessing existing programs to determine areas needing improvement, and coordinating with health care experts. Furthermore, as a health program specialist, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while adhering to the vision and mission of the organization or community.
A clinical externship is a short medical student program directly mentored by professionals within their chosen career path in healthcare. Clinical externs work in various settings such as hospitals, a doctor's office, or clinics and work directly with patients to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in the classroom. They will be graded and must pass the program to be able to graduate from medical school. Externs must request a letter of recommendation from their site supervisor when applying for jobs.
Health program specialists and clinical externships have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Program Specialist | Clinical Externship | |
| Average salary | $48,114 | $35,831 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $69,000 | Between $25,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | Alameda, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Genentech |
| Best paying industry | Government | Education |
There are a few differences between a health program specialist and a clinical externship in terms of educational background:
| Health Program Specialist | Clinical Externship | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between health program specialists' and clinical externships' demographics:
| Health Program Specialist | Clinical Externship | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4% | Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 15% |