Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between materials specialists and distribution specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a materials specialist has an average salary of $44,143, which is higher than the $36,140 average annual salary of a distribution specialist.
The top three skills for a materials specialist include customer service, logistics and data entry. The most important skills for a distribution specialist are work ethic, windows, and strong customer service.
| Materials Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $44,143 | $36,140 |
| Hourly rate | $21.22 | $17.38 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 38,001 | 45,554 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A materials specialist is responsible for researching efficient and high-quality materials for production and manufacturing processes, following the designs and specifications of the engineering team and design analysts. Materials specialists identify cost-reduction materials by coordinating with trusted suppliers and vendors and determine the suitability of these items in the supply chain. They conduct data and statistical analysis to develop strategic techniques that would minimize the company's expenditures and cost. A materials specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing expense reports and discuss findings to the senior management.
A distribution specialist specializes in the real-time, time-bounded, secure distribution of products from factories and manufacturing plants to various stores and companies. They are also responsible for making inventories of incoming goods and machines to the factory where he/she works. They can be liable to any lost goods, erroneous inventories, malicious products, and troublesome staff sometimes. Every distribution specialist must ensure that production quotas are achieved and that any barriers to achieving these goals are resolved
Materials specialists and distribution specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Materials Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Average salary | $44,143 | $36,140 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $79,000 | Between $24,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Diego, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | Gilead Sciences |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a materials specialist and a distribution specialist in terms of educational background:
| Materials Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between materials specialists' and distribution specialists' demographics:
| Materials Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% | Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |