Compensation / Benefits Specialist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Compensation or Benefits Specialist evaluates and works to maintain the pay structure and benefits program at an organization. Analyzes wage and salary data and trends, monitors market conditions; works with benefits vendors, processes benefit claims for employees; monitors government employment regulations. May focus specifically on job classifications and compensation or on benefits programs such as pensions.
Job Outlook
There were 2292 Compensation / Benefits Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 73866 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Compensation / Benefits Analyst industry, which includes the Compensation / Benefits Specialist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Compensation / Benefits Specialist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $83,404.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $87,126.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Compensation / Benefits Specialist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $58,800.
Education and Experience
Posted Compensation / Benefits Specialist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 32.11% |
| Master's Degree | 4.52% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.6% |
| Other | 23.71% |
Posted Compensation / Benefits Specialist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 50.41% |
| 3 to 5 years | 39.42% |
| 6 to 8 years | 6.73% |
| 9+ years | 3.44% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Compensation / Benefits Specialist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (35.27%)
- Customer Service (26.87%)
- Management (18.58%)
- Detail Oriented (17.91%)
- Problem Solving (14.72%)
- Microsoft Excel (14.64%)
- Sales (14.57%)
- Microsoft Office (13.3%)
- Writing (13.02%)
- Leadership (10.51%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Benefits Enrollment Processes (22.1%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Auditing (33.74%)
- Finance (19.45%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Benefits Administration (20.16%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Benefits Enrollment Processes (64.56%)
- Benefits Administration (58.88%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Compensation / Benefits Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Benefit Specialist
- Benefits Coordinator
- Benefits Administrator
- Benefits Representative
- Payroll and Benefits Specialist
- Benefits Specialist
- Retirement Plan Specialist
- Compensation Consultant
- Lawn Care Specialist
- Workers' Compensation Claims Specialist
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Compensation / Benefits Manager
- Enrollment Specialist
- Account Representative (General)
- Director of Compensation / Benefits
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Compensation / Benefits Specialist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Elevance Health (2739)
- Hire Standard Staffing (997)
- Lincoln Financial Group (638)
- Guidant Financial Group (583)
- CompHealth (539)
- Deloitte (498)
- Rentokil Initial (491)
- Robert Half (475)
- Charles Schwab (429)
- Mutual of Omaha (425)
North Carolina
- Hire Standard Staffing (99)
- Guilford County Schools (78)
- Elevance Health (65)
- Guidant Financial Group (55)
- Wells Fargo (42)
- State of North Carolina (32)
- Guidant Financial (25)
- Monarch&Co International (24)
- Marsh McLennan (24)
- TEKsystems (20)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.