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The differences between health program 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 program 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 $48,114 average annual salary of a health program specialist.
The top three skills for a health program specialist include health education, data collection and patients. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Health Program Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,114 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $23.13 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 114,825 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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.
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 program specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Program Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,114 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $69,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a health program specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Health Program Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between health program specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Health Program Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 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% |