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The differences between shipping specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a shipping specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, 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 specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Shipping Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,465 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $16.09 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 181,523 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
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.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Shipping specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shipping Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,465 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Puyallup, WA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between a shipping specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Shipping Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between shipping specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Shipping Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.7% Female, 32.3% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 11% |