Project specialists create project goals, schedule meetings, and monitor progress. They do all of this to ensure that projects are completed in time. Also, you are to record important decisions that are made in meetings. In addition, you must ensure that team members meet deadlines. You are to revise customer invoices for accuracy and make sure that apt invoice approvals are received. The preparation of progress reports also lies on your shoulder as a project analyst. You must obtain and monitor the status of outstanding customer payments, and you must also stimulate project sales growth.

Most project specialists study psychology, business, or communication. To be a qualified candidate for this role, you must hold at least a bachelor's degree in any of these relevant fields. Project specialists make an average salary of $70,063 in a year.

What Does a Project Specialist Do

There are certain skills that many project specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed customer-service skills, listening skills and speaking skills.

Learn more about what a Project Specialist does

How To Become a Project Specialist

If you're interested in becoming a project specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 63.7% of project specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 12.1% of project specialists have master's degrees. Even though most project specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Project Specialist

Project Specialist Job Description

A project specialist is responsible for the oversight of project development and execution. This means that they deal with things such as project goals, budgets, and schedules, create progress reports, and work closely with a number of departments in order to meet deadlines.

Learn more about Project Specialist Job Description

Project Specialist Career Paths

Average Salary for a Project Specialist

Project Specialists in America make an average salary of $65,993 per year or $32 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $103,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $41,000 per year.
Average Project Specialist Salary
$65,993 Yearly
$31.73 hourly

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Roles and Types of Project Specialist

The role of a project specialist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general project specialist responsibilities:

  • Completion of the care management summary for high cost claimant reporting, following corporate guidelines ï‚§ research
  • Maintains open communications with implementation project manager, conversion specialist, program administrators
  • Operations management define initiatives in partnership with the business owners(category merchants, dmm's,

There are several types of project specialist, including:

Project Coordinator

Role:

A Project Coordinator is someone who works closely together with the project manager, handling various responsibilities, usually overseeing smaller segments of a larger project. They are primarily responsible for logistical and administrative tasks, providing progress reports, managing the timeframe and financial resources for a particular portion of the work.

They contribute to the project design by gathering information, proposing improvements, scheduling meetings, and setting forth goals. They are responsible for managing paperwork and keeping contact between the various departments involved in the work.

Efficient project coordinators have keen attention to detail, are highly reliable and get things done with autonomy, and are excellent communicators, linking the disparate parts of a complex operation, making sure everything runs smoothly.
  • Average Salary: $50,375
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Project Analyst

Role:

As a project analyst, you are responsible for the improvement of projects. You must come up with strategies and conceptualize the project to its maximum capacity. To attain this, it is expedient for you to carry out comprehensive findings and cooperate with all workers and sectors engaged via consistent documentation and several kinds of interaction.

Additionally, you must also devise plans or methods to upgrade specific projects for them to thrive and obtain improved outcomes. You will perform all your duties following the organization's rules and regulations. More so, you should assist and handle projects, applying a flexible and scrum approach.

As a project analyst, you must display great analytical and problem-solving, interacting, multi-tasking, and documenting skills. You must also be flexible and capable of operating calmly in difficult situations. Furthermore, you should hold either a bachelor's or master's degree to qualify for the role. You will earn an average salary of $66,373 yearly or $31.91 per hour.
  • Average Salary: $71,174
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Project Administrator

Role:

Project administrators coordinate all project activities and are professionals in project management. Your responsibilities are to schedule regular meetings, create and update workflows, conduct risk analysis, and ensure that all projects meet quality standards and are completed within the stipulated time and budget. Project administrators also prepare and provide documentation to internal teams, track expenses and future costs, and give progress reports on project performance. It is your job to come up with strategies to see to the implementation of these goals, possibly by breaking the project into small doable tasks and setting timeframes and goals.

The most common requirements for this role are a bachelor's degree in business administration or a related field, knowledge of project management software like Trello or Microsoft project, and hands-on experience with flow charts, technical documentation, and schedules is also required. It is also important for you to have time management skills, organizational skills, communication skills, and team spirit. The average annual salary for this role is about $53,000 at the rate of $25 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $52,862
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Project Specialist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active project specialist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where project specialists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Project Specialist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California3,888$76,140
2Texas2,948$61,657
3Florida2,206$47,320
4Georgia2,161$56,050
5Ohio2,068$55,990
6New York1,977$69,432
7Pennsylvania1,660$73,013
8Virginia1,641$69,628
9Michigan1,578$65,092
10Illinois1,551$58,379
11Minnesota1,471$48,686
12North Carolina1,337$53,370
13Massachusetts1,301$76,048
14Tennessee1,183$53,715
15Indiana1,172$51,116
16Maryland1,161$57,693
17Missouri1,146$53,862
18Wisconsin1,117$50,760
19Washington1,075$60,664
20New Jersey1,060$67,166
21Arizona929$56,406
22Colorado832$49,535
23Iowa740$49,370
24South Carolina739$60,588
25Alabama724$49,569
26Oregon599$65,775
27Kansas590$47,799
28Kentucky552$53,594
29Louisiana538$56,253
30Oklahoma515$56,082
31Nebraska508$52,089
32Utah497$56,992
33Arkansas473$49,298
34Nevada462$68,074
35New Mexico435$50,408
36Connecticut384$70,256
37New Hampshire377$64,459
38Idaho348$61,643
39Mississippi302$48,886
40North Dakota256$63,758
41Maine245$54,082
42West Virginia243$58,405
43Hawaii203$66,105
44South Dakota193$46,280
45Delaware189$63,805
46Rhode Island172$71,324
47Montana159$48,150
48Alaska136$68,870
49Wyoming114$46,962
50Vermont112$54,924

Project Specialist Education

Project Specialist Majors

34.2 %

Project Specialist Degrees

Bachelors

63.7 %

Associate

14.7 %

Masters

12.1 %

Top Colleges for Project Specialists

1. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Marketing
Criminal Justice
Psychology
Accounting

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Science
Communication
Biology
Accounting

3. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Psychology
Criminal Justice
Communication

4. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Psychology
Accounting
Criminal Justice
Marketing
Communication

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Finance
Business
Political Science
Computer Science

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Biology
Psychology
Political Science

7. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Psychology
Criminal Justice
Marketing

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Political Science
Finance
Liberal Arts

9. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Political Science
Psychology
Business
Marketing

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Communication
Psychology
Computer Science

Top Skills For a Project Specialist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 25.1% of project specialists listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and listening skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Project Specialist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Project Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Project Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Project Specialist Resume
Project Specialist Resume
Project Specialist Resume
Project Specialist Resume
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Project Specialist Resume
Project Specialist Resume

Project Specialist Demographics

Project Specialist Gender Distribution

Female
Female
53%
Male
Male
47%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among project specialists, 53.3% of them are women, while 46.7% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among project specialists is White, which makes up 70.4% of all project specialists.

  • The most common foreign language among project specialists is Spanish at 56.3%.

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Best States For a Project Specialist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a project specialist. The best states for people in this position are California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Project specialists make the most in California with an average salary of $76,140. Whereas in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, they would average $76,048 and $73,013, respectively. While project specialists would only make an average of $71,324 in Rhode Island, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. District of Columbia

Total Project Specialist Jobs: 587
Highest 10% Earn:
$123,000
Location Quotient:
2.13

2. Nevada

Total Project Specialist Jobs: 462
Highest 10% Earn:
$110,000
Location Quotient:
1.35

3. North Dakota

Total Project Specialist Jobs: 256
Highest 10% Earn:
$93,000
Location Quotient:
1.68
Full List Of Best States For Project Specialists

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Top Project Specialist Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ project specialists and discovered their number of project specialist opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Lowe's Companies was the best, especially with an average salary of $60,997. Best Buy follows up with an average salary of $55,035, and then comes The Home Depot with an average of $52,676. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a project specialist. The employers include Control Risks, Zebra Technologies, and Airgas

Most Common Employers For Project Specialist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Ernst & Young$108,968$52.3937
2American Tower$101,170$48.6455
3Cisco$97,493$46.8793
4Pwc$92,628$44.5345
5General Electric$81,262$39.0749
6AECOM$81,037$38.9629
7MasTec$73,205$35.1929
8University of Southern California$71,788$34.5161
9Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings$69,787$33.5547
10Hewlett Packard Enterprise$68,260$32.8241

Becoming a Project Specialist FAQs

Project Sponsor Vs. Project Manager

A project sponsor is the point of connection between the organization's executive team and the project manager, while the project manager is the point of connection between the project sponsor and the project team.

How Do I Become A Project Coordinator With No Experience?

To become a project coordinator with no experience in the role, you'll need a certain level of experience within your industry. If you are highly organized with excellent communication skills and wish to plan, initiate, delegate, budget, and control projects, you can apply for project coordinator positions.

What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Project Manager?

The qualifications required to become a project manager depend on the industry you're working in.

Because of the large scope of responsibilities, the project manager needs to have had a relevant education. Typically candidates have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in computer science or business.

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