Training and Development Specialists: salary, outlook & degrees
Design or conduct work-related training and development programs to improve individual skills or organizational performance. May analyze organizational training needs or evaluate training effectiveness.
Middle half $50,110–$95,050. 458,300 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
57% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $65,628.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 46,000 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 9% | Psychology |
| Business Management And Administration | 6% | Business Administration |
| English Language And Literature | 5% | English |
| General Business | 5% | Business |
| Communications | 4% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 3% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Biology | 3% | Biology |
| Criminal Justice And Fire Protection | 3% | Criminal Justice · Security / Homeland Security |
| Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure | 3% | Kinesiology / Exercise Science · Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies |
| Economics | 2% | Economics |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| Delaware | $88,570 |
| New Hampshire | $86,050 |
| Alaska | $81,860 |
| Washington | $81,860 |
| District of Columbia | $80,980 |
| Massachusetts | $80,270 |
| Connecticut | $78,080 |
| Vermont | $77,800 |
| Virginia | $77,690 |
| New Jersey | $77,020 |
| Minnesota | $76,710 |
| Maryland | $76,370 |
| Oregon | $76,360 |
| New York | $76,080 |
| Rhode Island | $75,910 |
| California | $75,790 |
| Colorado | $75,790 |
| Florida | $71,990 |
| Pennsylvania | $71,350 |
| Wisconsin | $70,770 |
| Wyoming | $69,380 |
| Illinois | $67,380 |
| Georgia | $67,320 |
| Arizona | $67,140 |
| Iowa | $66,110 |
| Nebraska | $65,700 |
| Maine | $65,680 |
| North Carolina | $65,250 |
| West Virginia | $64,960 |
| Ohio | $64,780 |
| Alabama | $64,490 |
| Michigan | $64,350 |
| North Dakota | $63,260 |
| South Carolina | $63,070 |
| New Mexico | $62,900 |
| Montana | $62,880 |
| Texas | $62,860 |
| Tennessee | $62,280 |
| Kansas | $62,010 |
| Idaho | $61,720 |
| South Dakota | $61,570 |
| Kentucky | $61,390 |
| Nevada | $61,350 |
| Indiana | $61,050 |
| Oklahoma | $61,040 |
| Hawaii | $60,960 |
| Utah | $60,900 |
| Missouri | $58,670 |
| Louisiana | $58,070 |
| Mississippi | $53,680 |
| Arkansas | $52,290 |
| VI | $50,430 |
| PR | $47,820 |
| GU | $42,950 |
Florida metro areas
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$64,010
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$73,510
- Jacksonville$72,800
- Lakeland-Winter Haven$58,900
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$61,410
- Tallahassee$59,720
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$74,990
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$62,180
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$82,400
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$74,470
- Richmond$75,750
- Roanoke$66,670
- Charlottesville$77,450
- Kingsport-Bristol$65,610
- Lynchburg$72,580
- Winchester$60,350
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$71,990
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$95,050
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$60,010
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$75,670
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$104,770
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$76,180
- Fresno$65,060
- Bakersfield-Delano$58,860
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Speaking
- Learning Strategies
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
Knowledge used
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Administration and Management
Work styles
- Dependability
- Social Orientation
- Cooperation
- Innovation
- Adaptability
People in this job tend to have Social (helping), Investigative (analytical) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Training and Development Specialists: questions
How much do training and Development Specialists make?
Training and Development Specialists earn a U.S. median $69,280 a year; the middle half earn $50,110 to $95,050 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $60,869 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is training and Development Specialists a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 10.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 46,000 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a training and Development Specialist?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 78% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is psychology (9%).
How much do training and Development Specialists make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $71,990 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $69,280 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 13-1151. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Training and Development Specialists: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/training-and-development-specialists.