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The differences between shipping specialists and materials specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a materials specialist has an average salary of $44,143, 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 materials specialist are customer service, logistics, and data entry.
| Shipping Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,465 | $44,143 |
| Hourly rate | $16.09 | $21.22 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 181,523 | 38,001 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| 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 materials specialist is responsible for researching efficient and high-quality materials for production and manufacturing processes, following the designs and specifications of the engineering team and design analysts. Materials specialists identify cost-reduction materials by coordinating with trusted suppliers and vendors and determine the suitability of these items in the supply chain. They conduct data and statistical analysis to develop strategic techniques that would minimize the company's expenditures and cost. A materials specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing expense reports and discuss findings to the senior management.
Shipping specialists and materials specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shipping Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,465 | $44,143 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $24,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | Puyallup, WA | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a shipping specialist and a materials specialist in terms of educational background:
| Shipping Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between shipping specialists' and materials specialists' demographics:
| Shipping Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.7% Female, 32.3% | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% |
| 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, 10.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |