Meat department associate vs department specialist

The differences between meat department associates and department specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a department specialist has an average salary of $49,764, which is higher than the $26,955 average annual salary of a meat department associate.

The top three skills for a meat department associate include food handling, customer service and grinders. The most important skills for a department specialist are product knowledge, drive sales, and cleanliness.

Meat department associate vs department specialist overview

	Meat Department Associate	Department Specialist
Yearly salary	$26,955	$49,764
Hourly rate	$12.96	$23.93
Growth rate	-3%	-
Number of jobs	52,410	55,038
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	4	-

What does a meat department associate do?

A meat department associate is responsible for addressing customer needs and offering product suggestions based on the customer's preference. Meat department associates ensure the safe storage of the products, carefully loading and unloading the items from the distribution trucks to the appropriate area. They also assist with product packaging, price labeling, inspecting quality, and eliminating products that do not pass quality standards. A meat department associate may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as taking orders, processing payments, and updating sales reports.

What does a department specialist do?

A department specialist drives the profitable sales growth of a company through proper planning and execution of corporate merchandise direction. Department specialists develop plans and strategies to achieve corporate sales results through action planning, consistent accountability, and effective communication. They initiate and carry out business-wide software and hardware standardization. Also, they coordinate space utilization or facility scheduling optimization for programs focused on members.

Meat department associate vs department specialist salary

Meat department associates and department specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Meat Department Associate	Department Specialist
Average salary	$26,955	$49,764
Salary range	Between $13,000 And $55,000	Between $35,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	Leesburg, VA	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Best paying company	Linklaters	Springs Charter Schools
Best paying industry	Retail	Government

Differences between meat department associate and department specialist education

There are a few differences between a meat department associate and a department specialist in terms of educational background:

	Meat Department Associate	Department Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Meat department associate vs department specialist demographics

Here are the differences between meat department associates' and department specialists' demographics:

	Meat Department Associate	Department Specialist
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7%	Male, 37.6% Female, 62.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 7.7% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	7%

Differences between meat department associate and department specialist duties and responsibilities

Meat department associate example responsibilities.

Placed/Fil orders, maintain inventory, and manage department cleanliness.
Stock meat counter, dairy and frozen foods as well as general groceries.
Maintain, clean and sterilize, tables, deli slicers, and cutting equipment daily.
Clear shopping carts from lot, bag groceries for customers and help customers load groceries into vehicle.
Maintain and clean the meat dept, including saws, grinders, refrigerator, freezer and various other tools and equipment.
Used all equipment in meat department such as the refrigerators, freezers, slicers, and ovens according to company guidelines.

Department specialist example responsibilities.

Manage a high volume of patient information from authorizing diagnostic procedures and scheduling patients.
Conduct continuous inventory evaluation via analysis of POS computer data.
Provide account coverage on government, corporate, and mortgage-backed securities.
Strengthen organizational visibility by leading community outreach initiatives, fulfilling roles as youth mentor and orchestrating event planning and logistics.
Assist with scanning old patient records into EMR, other duties assign.
Communicate all policy and procedure violations to management, prepare detailed memos outlining the issues.

Meat department associate vs department specialist skills

Common meat department associate skills

Food Handling, 20%
Customer Service, 11%
Grinders, 10%
Fresh Product, 8%
Food Safety, 7%
Fresh Meat, 6%

Common department specialist skills

Product Knowledge, 14%
Drive Sales, 11%
Cleanliness, 11%
Customer Satisfaction, 9%
Customer Service, 9%
Office Equipment, 8%

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Meat Department Associate
Meat Department Associate vs Department Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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