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The differences between shipping specialists and distribution specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a distribution specialist has an average salary of $36,140, which is higher than the $33,465 average annual salary of a shipping specialist.
The top three skills for a shipping specialist include logistics, shipping receiving and pallet jack. The most important skills for a distribution specialist are work ethic, windows, and strong customer service.
| Shipping Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,465 | $36,140 |
| Hourly rate | $16.09 | $17.38 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 181,523 | 45,554 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 43 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
A shipping specialist is a person who packages, manifests, and tracks all the items requested by the customers - external and internal. They keep strict item handling practices as per the recommended business practices and accurately update the needed tracking systems such as external data sources, spreadsheets, and modules. Besides filing and maintaining shipping document records as per the departmental guidelines, shipping specialists also make it easy to trace shipments by creating or printing identifying labels. Moreover, shipping specialists maintain excellent customer relationships and give timely updates relating to shipments to origin and destination.
A distribution specialist specializes in the real-time, time-bounded, secure distribution of products from factories and manufacturing plants to various stores and companies. They are also responsible for making inventories of incoming goods and machines to the factory where he/she works. They can be liable to any lost goods, erroneous inventories, malicious products, and troublesome staff sometimes. Every distribution specialist must ensure that production quotas are achieved and that any barriers to achieving these goals are resolved
Shipping specialists and distribution specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shipping Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,465 | $36,140 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $24,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Puyallup, WA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Gilead Sciences |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a shipping specialist and a distribution specialist in terms of educational background:
| Shipping Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between shipping specialists' and distribution specialists' demographics:
| Shipping Specialist | Distribution Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.7% Female, 32.3% | Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.4% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |