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The differences between living specialists and support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a living specialist, becoming a support specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a support specialist has an average salary of $40,782, which is higher than the $36,759 average annual salary of a living specialist.
The top three skills for a living specialist include independent living, community resources and autism. The most important skills for a support specialist are customer service, patients, and mental health.
| Living Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,759 | $40,782 |
| Hourly rate | $17.67 | $19.61 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 49,916 | 125,740 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A living specialist is a person who is responsible for assisting and guiding individuals that have difficulties caring for themselves. They are the person who helps them in doing household chores and guiding them throughout the cleaning process. This career is an important position in society because it provides care for those who are in need.
A support specialist is responsible for assisting technical and administrative support, depending on the business need. Support specialists must have extensive knowledge of the services of the organization they work for to assist customers with their inquiries and resolve complaints efficiently. A support specialist maintains documents of issue resolution, providing recommendations to improve business strategies and procedures. Support specialists must be well-versed on technology systems, perform basic troubleshooting, and secure databases. They should also have impeccable customer service and communication skills to attend with customers' needs and requests.
Living specialists and support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Living Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,759 | $40,782 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $25,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Terros Health | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Technology |
There are a few differences between a living specialist and a support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Living Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY at Binghamton | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between living specialists' and support specialists' demographics:
| Living Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 6.8% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |