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The differences between solution 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 solution specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a solution specialist has an average salary of $76,424, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.
The top three skills for a solution specialist include product knowledge, sales process and SQL. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Solution Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $76,424 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $36.74 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 56,938 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A solution specialist is responsible for selling and promoting goods and services of an organization to existing and potential clients through product demonstrations and professional sales pitches, typically on phone calls and e-mail communication. Solutions specialists must possess strong product knowledge to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns about the products and successfully close sales deals that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. A solutions specialist must have excellent communication and customer service skills, maximizing strategic techniques to build customer satisfaction.
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.
Solution specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solution Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $76,424 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $125,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | PayPal | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a solution specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Solution Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between solution specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Solution Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.7% White, 54.9% 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 | 7% | 11% |