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The differences between life skills instructors and residential specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a life skills instructor and a residential specialist. Additionally, a residential specialist has an average salary of $33,451, which is higher than the $30,844 average annual salary of a life skills instructor.
The top three skills for a life skills instructor include developmental disabilities, CPR and kids. The most important skills for a residential specialist are mental health, crisis intervention, and CPR.
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $30,844 | $33,451 |
| Hourly rate | $14.83 | $16.08 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 64,039 | 49,467 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 37 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
The residential specialist job is to provide quality support services to consumers that enhance physical, emotional, intellectual, vocational, communication, and social skills according to the individual's needs, abilities, and choices. Their duties and responsibilities include following the guidelines given by their agencies and assisting clients as needed according to their daily plan and schedule.
Life skills instructors and residential specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Specialist | |
| Average salary | $30,844 | $33,451 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $44,000 | Between $25,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Norwich, CT | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a life skills instructor and a residential specialist in terms of educational background:
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between life skills instructors' and residential specialists' demographics:
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Specialist | |
| Average age | 37 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% | Male, 29.7% Female, 70.3% |
| 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, 12.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 11% |