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The differences between youth leaders and youth development professionals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a youth leader, becoming a youth development professional takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a youth development professional has an average salary of $43,758, which is higher than the $29,481 average annual salary of a youth leader.
The top three skills for a youth leader include CPR, fine arts and academic enrichment. The most important skills for a youth development professional are youth development, direct care, and productive relationships.
| Youth Leader | Youth Development Professional | |
| Yearly salary | $29,481 | $43,758 |
| Hourly rate | $14.17 | $21.04 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 31,851 | 91,372 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A youth leader is a young individual who is responsible for building a sense of community within the church youth that can provide an opportunity for both spiritual and social development. Youth Leaders organize regular social, educational, and spiritual oriented events with parents and volunteers to maintain a vibrant program. They establish support and appropriate relationships with their youth members and their families. Youth leaders also maintain social media and emails to provide information publicly to youth members about their organized events.
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.
Youth leaders and youth development professionals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Leader | Youth Development Professional | |
| Average salary | $29,481 | $43,758 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $20,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | First Book | MUFG EMEA |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a youth leader and a youth development professional in terms of educational background:
| Youth Leader | Youth Development Professional | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between youth leaders' and youth development professionals' demographics:
| Youth Leader | Youth Development Professional | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 45.3% Female, 54.7% | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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 | 14% | 10% |