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The differences between social media interns and social media specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a social media internship and a social media specialist. Additionally, a social media specialist has an average salary of $51,584, which is higher than the $31,145 average annual salary of a social media internship.
The top three skills for a social media internship include instagram, facebook insights and twitter. The most important skills for a social media specialist are social media marketing, instagram, and digital marketing.
| Social Media Internship | Social Media Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $31,145 | $51,584 |
| Hourly rate | $14.97 | $24.80 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 79,411 | 47,228 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.
A social media specialist is an individual who is responsible for creating and administering content on all social media platforms to build an audience and ensure customer engagement. By using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, social media specialists must create content that resonates with the interests of the intended audience. They are required to understand social media metrics so that they can use the information to ensure success in their social media strategy. Social media specialists must also work with industry professionals and influencers via social media to create a strong network.
Social media interns and social media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Media Internship | Social Media Specialist | |
| Average salary | $31,145 | $51,584 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $38,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Oracle | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Education | Professional |
There are a few differences between a social media internship and a social media specialist in terms of educational background:
| Social Media Internship | Social Media Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 84% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between social media interns' and social media specialists' demographics:
| Social Media Internship | Social Media Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.2% Female, 68.8% | Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |