Post job

Project coordinator vs project specialist

The differences between project coordinators and project specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project specialist has an average salary of $65,993, which is higher than the $50,375 average annual salary of a project coordinator.

The top three skills for a project coordinator include project management, customer service and powerpoint. The most important skills for a project specialist are customer service, project management, and project proposals.

Project coordinator vs project specialist overview

Project CoordinatorProject Specialist
Yearly salary$50,375$65,993
Hourly rate$24.22$31.73
Growth rate-8%10%
Number of jobs38,74399,583
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4744
Years of experience6-

What does a project coordinator do?

Project coordinators act as the liaising body between different departments involved in a specific project. They are members of the group assigned to work together for special projects or undertakings that will benefit the organization. Project coordinators join meetings of the special committee, from planning to evaluation. They take notes and jot down action plans. They ensure that the committee members assigned to do specific tasks are doing so. They also guarantee project success by ensuring that the people involved in the project are working well together.

What does a project specialist do?

A project specialist's role is to ensure that a project or program's completion is within the allotted time and budget. They are primarily responsible for devising plans and strategies to quicken the pace of production or processes involved, creating a comprehensive schedule, monitoring the progress and producing reports, tracking the budget and expenditures, and coordinating with all department personnel. Moreover, a project specialist may also schedule and attend meetings, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.

Project coordinator vs project specialist salary

Project coordinators and project specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project CoordinatorProject Specialist
Average salary$50,375$65,993
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $75,000Between $41,000 And $103,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryFinanceProfessional

Differences between project coordinator and project specialist education

There are a few differences between a project coordinator and a project specialist in terms of educational background:

Project CoordinatorProject Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - BakersfieldWestern Carolina University

Project coordinator vs project specialist demographics

Here are the differences between project coordinators' and project specialists' demographics:

Project CoordinatorProject Specialist
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 37.7% Female, 62.3%Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage8%11%

Differences between project coordinator and project specialist duties and responsibilities

Project coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Create and lead Smartsheet training for team members.
  • Manage timely delivery of regular deliverables to the CIO.
  • Project manages all aspects of office redesign to include; new furniture, layout, logistics, and telephony requirements.
  • Manage FTP site for all projects and coordinate with all consultants and clients to help upload and download auto cad drawings.
  • Manage Minnesota Medicaid billing and patient eligibility from admission and renewals.
  • Manage the PMO Intranet site and develop related standard operating procedure documents.
  • Show more

Project specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage all phases of SDLC.
  • Manage SDLC so that all controls are followed.
  • Manage tracking and resolution of defects and reporting of UAT execution results.
  • Purchase and manage inventory for aircraft LCD displays across all Rockwell sites.
  • Manage relational database through SQL programming, as well as ERP and MRP.
  • Design screen layouts and fields in the ERP system to accomplish above goals as well as enhance end user experience.
  • Show more

Project coordinator vs project specialist skills

Common project coordinator skills
  • Project Management, 15%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • PowerPoint, 7%
  • Data Entry, 5%
  • Purchase Orders, 5%
  • Project Coordination, 5%
Common project specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 25%
  • Project Management, 17%
  • Project Proposals, 10%
  • Telemarketing, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Patients, 2%

Browse office and administrative jobs