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The differences between user experience researchers and product specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a user experience researcher and a product specialist. Additionally, a user experience researcher has an average salary of $99,849, which is higher than the $85,932 average annual salary of a product specialist.
The top three skills for a user experience researcher include user research, user experience and research methods. The most important skills for a product specialist are customer service, product knowledge, and sales floor.
| User Experience Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $99,849 | $85,932 |
| Hourly rate | $48.00 | $41.31 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 24,148 | 103,863 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A user experience (UX) researcher is an individual who is responsible for analyzing actual consumer behavior and needs to design products and services that may have an impact on business companies. User experience researchers provide informed insights and then work with product managers to turn these insights into consumer-centric results that resonate with customers. They are required to conduct in-depth and advanced research both in qualitative and quantitative methods to identify user needs and goals and provide recommendations for improvement. User experience researchers are also required to participate in the recruitment activities for user research.
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
User experience researchers and product specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| User Experience Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Average salary | $99,849 | $85,932 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $135,000 | Between $56,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a user experience researcher and a product specialist in terms of educational background:
| User Experience Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | University of Maryland - College Park | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between user experience researchers' and product specialists' demographics:
| User Experience Researcher | Product Specialist | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8% | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |