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Trainee vs technical specialist

The differences between trainees and technical specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a trainee and a technical specialist. Additionally, a technical specialist has an average salary of $88,773, which is higher than the $39,185 average annual salary of a trainee.

The top three skills for a trainee include customer service, CDL and training programs. The most important skills for a technical specialist are customer service, technical support, and patients.

Trainee vs technical specialist overview

TraineeTechnical Specialist
Yearly salary$39,185$88,773
Hourly rate$18.84$42.68
Growth rate5%10%
Number of jobs51,490121,151
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age4342
Years of experience22

What does a trainee do?

Trainees' general responsibility is to familiarize themselves with the best practices and processes of their chosen careers. Some of the trainee's duties include shadowing with a tenured employee to understand various tasks, taking practical examinations to test knowledge extent, maintaining the eagerness to learn and a positive working attitude, assisting with customer inquiries, escalating concerns, and maintaining record progress. A trainee should be a team player, a fast learner, and the ability to handle constructive criticisms for improvement.

What does a technical specialist do?

The role of technical specialists is to provide technical support for applications and programs to staff members and customers within an organization. They train staff and customers on products and apps and offer advice on the best practices for utilizing technical programs and applications. They also design training materials to teach other staff members the most effective methods of using its technology. It is also their job to reduce company costs by looking for ways to improve productivity and lessen expenses.

Trainee vs technical specialist salary

Trainees and technical specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

TraineeTechnical Specialist
Average salary$39,185$88,773
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $55,000Between $62,000 And $126,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateHawaiiDelaware
Best paying companyClifford ChanceFinnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between trainee and technical specialist education

There are a few differences between a trainee and a technical specialist in terms of educational background:

TraineeTechnical Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Trainee vs technical specialist demographics

Here are the differences between trainees' and technical specialists' demographics:

TraineeTechnical Specialist
Average age4342
Gender ratioMale, 56.4% Female, 43.6%Male, 71.2% Female, 28.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 12.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%11%

Differences between trainee and technical specialist duties and responsibilities

Trainee example responsibilities.

  • Establish and manage Microsoft SharePoint services to servers to achieve higher productivity for each project.
  • Design scripts to automate the build of developer, QA, and production servers.
  • Accomplish the experiments on PCB layout, core circuit board of hardware via PCB manufacturing.
  • Maintain BOM (bill of materials) and manage the team in maintaining coordination between the customer requirements.
  • Involve using HTML, CSS, PHP, bootstrap, and Jquery throughout the work.
  • Assist in the creation of a python base ArcGIS profile elevation script tool.
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Technical specialist example responsibilities.

  • Install and manage LAN/WAN using TCP/IP protocol.
  • Manage the development of a customize ERP system for the client.
  • Design and manage studies for alternative API qualification for commercial products.
  • Lead and assist in troubleshooting problems and assure appropriate communication with physicians and patients.
  • Manage customer complaints and internal GMP audits for product manufacturing, coordinate FDA audits and recommend corrective actions.
  • Develop HTML, CSS, JavaScript for commercial websites.
  • Show more

Trainee vs technical specialist skills

Common trainee skills
  • Customer Service, 22%
  • CDL, 9%
  • Training Programs, 9%
  • Work Ethic, 7%
  • Basic Math, 6%
  • Math, 5%
Common technical specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 4%
  • C++, 4%

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