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The differences between retention specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a retention specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $37,175 average annual salary of a retention specialist.
The top three skills for a retention specialist include customer service, outbound calls and powerpoint. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Retention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,175 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 199,631 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A retention specialist is responsible for devising strategies to maintain a healthy relationship with clients. They are primarily in charge of negotiating and securing contract renewals, handling issues and corrective measures for customer satisfaction, utilizing feedback to improve services, and maintaining a healthy rapport to strengthen the client base. Furthermore, as a retention specialist, it is essential to perform calls and correspondence, keep records of all transactions, and coordinate with work-staff.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Retention specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,175 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $48,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Adobe | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a retention specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Retention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between retention specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Retention Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.0% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |