Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between scheduling specialists and authorization specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a scheduling specialist, becoming an authorization specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a scheduling specialist has an average salary of $37,269, which is higher than the $36,518 average annual salary of an authorization specialist.
The top three skills for a scheduling specialist include patients, medical terminology and home health. The most important skills for an authorization specialist are patients, customer service, and insurance verification.
| Scheduling Specialist | Authorization Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,269 | $36,518 |
| Hourly rate | $17.92 | $17.56 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 73,381 | 71,831 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 49 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A scheduling specialist is responsible for managing the department's meeting, conference, and event schedules, as well as negotiating with suppliers and third-party vendors for appointment and program needs. Scheduling specialists may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, especially on communicating with clients and informing them of meetings, and responding to their concerns and inquiries. A scheduling specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as knowledge of the data processing procedures to maintain the organization's database, updating clients' information, and tracking business transactions.
An authorization specialist is responsible for reviewing insurance claims and determining the necessary settlement for the clients and involved parties. Authorization specialists file documents and gather the required information for further investigation and analysis. They coordinate with the insurance agency and the medical institution and ensure that the correct communications are being sent out for reference. An authorization specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing authorization requests and resolve claims timely and efficiently.
Scheduling specialists and authorization specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Scheduling Specialist | Authorization Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,269 | $36,518 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $51,000 | Between $28,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Milford, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Bristol-Myers Squibb | Guidehouse |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a scheduling specialist and an authorization specialist in terms of educational background:
| Scheduling Specialist | Authorization Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between scheduling specialists' and authorization specialists' demographics:
| Scheduling Specialist | Authorization Specialist | |
| Average age | 49 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.9% Female, 76.1% | Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 22.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 7% |