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The differences between shipping specialists and inventory specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an inventory specialist has an average salary of $35,752, 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 an inventory specialist are customer service, sales floor, and reservations.
| Shipping Specialist | Inventory Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,465 | $35,752 |
| Hourly rate | $16.09 | $17.19 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 181,523 | 161,107 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| 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.
An Inventory Specialist's responsibility is to oversee the inventory in a warehouse or establishment. Most of the tasks of an Inventory Specialist revolve around monitoring the requisition, storage, and deliveries of supplies and merchandise to ensure the quality and quantity of the products. Moreover, the Inventory Specialist also has the responsibility to coordinate with store management when issues arise, train newly hired staff to be a valuable part of the workforce, and provide inventory reports and records to the administration.
Shipping specialists and inventory specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shipping Specialist | Inventory Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,465 | $35,752 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $25,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Puyallup, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Ensign Energy |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a shipping specialist and an inventory specialist in terms of educational background:
| Shipping Specialist | Inventory Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between shipping specialists' and inventory specialists' demographics:
| Shipping Specialist | Inventory Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.7% Female, 32.3% | Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1% |
| 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, 10.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |