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Career development specialist salary

Quoted expert
Raina Gandhi

Average career development specialist salary

$46,744

$22.47 hourly rate

Entry-level career development specialist salary
$32,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding the Career Development Specialist Salary

The average salary for a Career Development Specialist is approximately $46,744 per year, translating to about $22 per hour. Factors influencing this salary include the individual's experience level, geographic location, and specific industry sector. For instance, specialists in urban areas may earn significantly more than those in rural locations.

Salary by Experience Level

Entry-level positions typically start lower, while those with several years of experience command higher salaries. Professionals can advance their careers through additional training and certifications, which can lead to roles in management or specialized areas.

Highest Paying States

States such as California and New York tend to offer the highest salaries for career development specialists. Understanding where to focus your job search can maximize your earning potential in this field.

Career Opportunities

Considering the demand for skilled professionals in career development, opportunities abound across various sectors, including education, corporate training, and non-profit organizations. By staying informed about salary trends and job openings, you can effectively navigate your career path as a specialist.

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Where can a Career Development Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
86k
66k
46k
26k
6k
Columbus, OH$57,993
Salt Lake City, UT$35,583
Compare salary by company
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94k
74k
54k
34k
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Boston Consulting Group$76,550
Res-Care Premier$44,196

Career development specialist salaries by experience level

Career development specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a career development specialist typically falls between $46,744 and $85,625.
zippia
$46,744yearly
glassdoor[1]
$61,441yearly
comparably[2]
$67,153yearly
Salary.com[3]
$85,625yearly
payscale[4]
$50,598yearly

Average career development specialist salary by state

The average career development specialist salary in California, Washington, and New Jersey are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average career development specialist salary states are Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Idaho.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for career development specialists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Pennsylvania$49,943$24.01
2Texas$46,762$22.48
3Nevada$47,009$22.60
4Montana$43,631$20.98
5North Carolina$49,302$23.70
6Kansas$43,056$20.70
7District of Columbia$54,454$26.18
8California$54,714$26.30
9Mississippi$45,468$21.86
10Washington$50,997$24.52
11Michigan$42,119$20.25
12New Jersey$50,684$24.37
13Delaware$46,308$22.26
14Virginia$48,017$23.09
15Georgia$43,808$21.06
16Wyoming$40,445$19.44
17Louisiana$43,574$20.95
18South Dakota$40,734$19.58
19Rhode Island$43,964$21.14
20Tennessee$40,532$19.49
21New York$46,229$22.23
22Maryland$46,579$22.39
23Minnesota$39,979$19.22
24Ohio$40,115$19.29
25Alabama$40,575$19.51
26Arizona$38,956$18.73
27New Mexico$38,413$18.47
28North Dakota$37,054$17.81
29Connecticut$44,261$21.28
30Maine$41,909$20.15
31Arkansas$37,629$18.09
32Indiana$38,698$18.60
33Missouri$38,570$18.54
34Colorado$42,178$20.28
35Nebraska$37,476$18.02
36Florida$38,145$18.34
37Massachusetts$41,785$20.09
38Oklahoma$37,416$17.99
39New Hampshire$39,773$19.12
40Hawaii$33,418$16.07
41Iowa$36,405$17.50
42Illinois$39,839$19.15
43Oregon$38,570$18.54
44Wisconsin$34,056$16.37
45Utah$35,812$17.22
46South Carolina$35,165$16.91
47Kentucky$32,905$15.82
48Alaska$27,223$13.09
49West Virginia$29,711$14.28
50Idaho$33,157$15.94
51Vermont$34,509$16.59
Top career development specialist jobs near you

Highest paying cities for career development specialists

The highest-paying cities for career development specialists are San Francisco, CA, Olympia, WA, and Willingboro, NJ.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$57,993$27.88
2Olympia, WA$52,083$25.04
3Willingboro, NJ$51,577$24.80
4Philadelphia, PA$50,577$24.32
5Greenville, NC$50,329$24.20
6Richmond, VA$47,839$23.00
7Houston, TX$46,925$22.56
8Baltimore, MD$46,691$22.45
9New York, NY$46,681$22.44
10Baton Rouge, LA$43,672$21.00
11Wichita, KS$43,547$20.94
12Dartmouth, MA$43,538$20.93
13Detroit, MI$42,371$20.37
14Huntsville, AL$40,293$19.37
15Chicago, IL$39,936$19.20
16Phoenix, AZ$39,096$18.80
17Indianapolis, IN$38,703$18.61
18Kansas City, MO$38,264$18.40
19Miami, FL$37,903$18.22
20Salt Lake City, UT$35,583$17.11

Career development specialist salary details

A career development specialist's salary ranges from $32,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $67,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average career development specialist salary graph
Average career development specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a career development specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$67,000$5,583$32
75th Percentile$56,000$4,667$27
Average$46,744$3,895$22
25th Percentile$38,000$3,167$18
10th Percentile$32,000$2,667$15

Highest paying career development specialist jobs

The highest paying types of career development specialists are senior training specialist, development officer, and training specialist.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Training Coordinator$46,698$3,891$22.4554,796
Training Consultant$56,760$4,730$27.2952,054
Training Facilitator$51,968$4,331$24.9839,523
Facilitator$44,851$3,738$21.5630,474
Epic Credentialed Trainer$75,929$6,327$36.5041,467
Training Developer$62,974$5,248$30.28108,369

How would you rate the starting salaries for career development specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Raina Gandhi

Assistant Dean of Career Services, American University

"Starting salaries for marketing majors are likely to be below business majors, but that shouldn't dissuade students from entering the field as the long-term earnings can be just as good. For entry-level positions, it's more of a supply and demand issue keeping salaries down." - Quote from Dr. Michael Clayton, Program Director of Masters in Marketing program.

Marketing starting salaries can vary significantly, based on the marketing area in which one works: sales management, PR management, advertising, market research, marketing management, etc.
Marketing job growth will vary, based on the marketing area in which one wishes to specialize and where you work. While newspaper publishing, which is a top employer of advertising managers, is declining, electronic media outlets will see employment growth.

At American University, undergraduate students can either major in business and earn a marketing specialization at the Kogod School of Business, or earn a marketing minor through the university. Kogod also offers residential and online graduate programs in marketing to help students who want to advance their careers in or pivot to the marketing field. All of our programs provide experiential learning through class projects, internships, leadership opportunities, and/or case competitions, and students leverage their business knowledge and skills to negotiate competitive salaries.

Top companies hiring career development specialists now:

  1. Job Corps jobs (7)
  2. Texas jobs (15)
  3. Maximus jobs (25)
  4. US Air Conditioning Distributors jobs (6)
  5. Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont jobs (8)

Which companies pay career development specialists the most?

Career development specialist salaries at Boston Consulting Group and University of Baltimore are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average career development specialist salary at companies like Brookhaven National Laboratory and Harvard University are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Boston Consulting Group$76,550$36.80
2University of Baltimore$68,820$33.09
3Brookhaven National Laboratory$67,322$32.37
4Harvard University$61,750$29.69
5Northwell Health$57,299$27.55
6UC Santa Barbara$55,822$26.84
7Stevens Institute of Technology$55,112$26.50
8Hackensack Meridian Health$54,456$26.18
9UMass Dartmouth$51,382$24.70
10BronxWorks$51,356$24.69
11University of Michigan$51,001$24.52
12International Rescue Committee$50,161$24.12
13Arizona State University$49,049$23.58
14Party City$48,059$23.11
15University of Houston$47,547$22.86
16Apis$45,653$21.95
17New Door Ventures$45,046$21.66
18Mrci Worksource$45,043$21.66
19HyperScience$44,472$21.38
20Res-Care Premier$44,196$21.25

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$48,000$47,200$46,400$45,600$44,800$44,000
MaleFemale

Career Development Specialist salary by industry

The average career development specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average career development specialist salary in the education industry is $48,124, the highest of any industry.
  • The average career development specialist salary in the finance industry is $47,385.
  • Career development specialists in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $31,228, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for career development specialists

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Education$48,124$23.14
2Government$47,385$22.78
3Professional$45,545$21.90
4Health Care$45,003$21.64
5Non Profits$39,712$19.09
6Hospitality$31,228$15.01

High paying career development specialist jobs

Career development specialist salary trends

The average career development specialist salary has risen by $5,629 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average career development specialist earned $41,115 annually, but today, they earn $46,744 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for career development specialists over the last decade.

Compare career development specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average career development specialist salary over time

Compare career development specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Career development specialist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$46,700$22.47+2.4%
2024$45,600$21.94+0.6%
2023$45,400$21.82+0.8%
2022$45,000$21.63+2.2%
2021$44,000$21.15+1.4%

Recently added career development specialist salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
GoodwillCareer Development SpecialistRockford, IL06/29/2025$45,914
Hamline UniversityCareer Development SpecialistSaint Paul, MN06/24/2025$50,000
Goodwill Industries of Middle GaCareer Development SpecialistMacon, GA06/15/2025$42,000
The New York FoundlingCareer Development SpecialistNew York, NY06/15/2025$52,350
Tallahassee Community CollegeCareer Development Specialist-Cross City CITallahassee, FL06/05/2025$41,200
EDSIBilingual Career Development SpecialistLancaster, PA05/09/2025$45,000
Balance of NatureCareer Development SpecialistHurricane, UT04/30/2025$31,305
EDSICareer Development SpecialistLancaster, PA04/27/2025$45,000
University of Texas at DallasCareer Development SpecialistRichardson, TX04/18/2025$55,000
Balance of NatureCareer Development SpecialistHurricane, UT03/15/2025$31,305

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