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The differences between student support 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 student support 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 $43,449 average annual salary of a student support specialist.
The top three skills for a student support specialist include student support, social work and support services. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Student Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $43,449 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $20.89 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 104,264 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A student support specialist provides ample counsel and advice for students in an educational institution. Student support's responsibility is to help students adjust, adapt, and advance through their learning life in school or university and provide care and support for them to grow. The student support specialist also connects students to relevant benefits, government educational benefits, and other help and benefits provided by the educational institution and its faculty. The student support specialist aims to help students in their studies and see them achieve their goals.
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.
Student support specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Student Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $43,449 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $65,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Boston Public Schools | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Media | - |
There are a few differences between a student support specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Student Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between student support specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Student Support Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 7.0% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | 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 | 11% | 11% |