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The differences between research team members and product specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a research team member and a product specialist. Additionally, a product specialist has an average salary of $85,932, which is higher than the $28,204 average annual salary of a research team member.
The top three skills for a research team member include windows, PET and literature reviews. The most important skills for a product specialist are customer service, product knowledge, and sales floor.
| Research Team Member | Product Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $28,204 | $85,932 |
| Hourly rate | $13.56 | $41.31 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 199,149 | 103,863 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A research team member performs various tasks to carry out research projects. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their designated roles, it typically includes understanding the research project's purpose and requirements, traveling to different locations, gathering and analyzing data, conducting interviews, and documenting procedures through audio records, photos, and videos. Moreover, a research team member must maintain an active communication line with co-members and leaders, all while adhering to the company or team's standards and regulations.
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
Research team members and product specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research Team Member | Product Specialist | |
| Average salary | $28,204 | $85,932 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $40,000 | Between $56,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Union, NJ | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a research team member and a product specialist in terms of educational background:
| Research Team Member | Product Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | University of Maryland - College Park | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between research team members' and product specialists' demographics:
| Research Team Member | Product Specialist | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.5% Female, 55.5% | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |