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The differences between youth development professionals and child support 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 youth development professional and a child support specialist. Additionally, a youth development professional has an average salary of $43,758, which is higher than the $38,271 average annual salary of a child support specialist.
The top three skills for a youth development professional include youth development, direct care and productive relationships. The most important skills for a child support specialist are customer service, social work, and child support cases.
| Youth Development Professional | Child Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $43,758 | $38,271 |
| Hourly rate | $21.04 | $18.40 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 91,372 | 143,623 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Youth Development Professionals are specialists in implementing and overseeing programs to help adolescents discover their abilities and interests. They are responsible for coordinating career days and field trips, organizing mentorship sessions, create youth outreach projects, and assisting community organizations in youth provision development. Other duties include supporting the training of volunteer youth workers as well as ensuring service provided adheres to professional standards and current regulations. A Youth Development Professional may specialize in a specific development sector, such as healthy living, experiential learning, or public service.
A child support specialist is primarily in charge of monitoring child support payments, ensuring individuals with financial obligations comply with the legal settlement terms. They mainly work in the legal industry, where their responsibilities include assessing the clients' financial situations, gathering and analyzing financial statements, performing interviews and follow-up calls, and producing regular progress reports. Furthermore, as a child support specialist, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions and procedures, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
Youth development professionals and child support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Development Professional | Child Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $43,758 | $38,271 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $95,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | Rockville, MD |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | MUFG EMEA | University of Rochester |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a youth development professional and a child support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Youth Development Professional | Child Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between youth development professionals' and child support specialists' demographics:
| Youth Development Professional | Child Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |