Training Specialist Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 3,747 US job postings by 1,983 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for training specialists: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 3,747 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for training specialists in US job postings is $84,000 a year (949 postings from 543 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $61,000 to $110,000.
- The skills that most set training specialist postings apart are instructional design, adult learning principles, facilitation.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Training Specialist job postings in the US, October 2026
- $84,000
- Median advertised pay (949 postings)
- $61,000–$110,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 3,747
- US job postings from 1,983 employers
- 3 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a training specialist make?
The median advertised pay is $84,000 a year, from 949 US job postings by 543 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $145,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 949 US training specialist job postings: median $84,000 a year, middle half $61,000 to $110,000.
- Median: $84,000
- 25th percentile: $61,000
- 75th percentile: $110,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.2% |
| $30K–$40K | 2.9% |
| $40K–$50K | 9.4% |
| $50K–$60K | 10.3% |
| $60K–$70K | 10.5% |
| $70K–$80K | 10.4% |
| $80K–$90K | 12.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 9.6% |
| $100K–$110K | 8.5% |
| $110K–$120K | 4.6% |
| $120K–$130K | 4.9% |
| $130K–$140K | 3.7% |
| $140K–$150K | 4.1% |
| $150K–$160K | 2.3% |
| $160K–$170K | 2.7% |
| $170K–$180K | 1.0% |
| $180K–$190K | 0.2% |
| $190K–$200K | 0.2% |
| $200K–$210K | 0.4% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.2% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.7% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $95,000 | $77K–$122K | 667 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $84,000 | $61K–$110K | 949 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Training and Development Specialists (13-1151) at $69,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a training specialist?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Training specialist pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $97,000 | $79,000–$116,000 | 105 | 9.2% |
Skills employers ask for in training specialist job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 49% |
| Organizational skills | 25% |
| Microsoft Office | 24% |
| Excel | 24% |
| Interpersonal skills | 19% |
| Powerpoint | 18% |
| Word | 16% |
| Attention to detail | 13% |
| Problem-solving | 12% |
| Outlook | 11% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set training specialists apart
- Instructional design193.5× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Adult learning principles206.6× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Facilitation32× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Powerpoint4.7× as often as in all postings · 18%
- Presentation9.4× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Presentation skills5.4× as often as in all postings · 9%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a training specialist job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a training specialist do?
Employers post these jobs as Training Coordinator, Training Manager, Technical Trainer, Training Supervisor, Learning & Development Specialist and other titles. The largest specializations are Training Manager (17%), Training Coordinator (10%), Trainer (15%), Technical Trainer (11%), Learning & Development Specialist (6%), Sales Trainer (7%).
The closest official occupation is Training and Development Specialists (13-1151.00). Its most important tasks:
- Present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures.
- Obtain, organize, or develop training procedure manuals, guides, or course materials, such as handouts or visual materials.
- Evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts.
- Offer specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills.
- Assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a training specialist?
Among 1,752 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 20% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,752 US training specialist job postings: median 3 years, and 20% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 1% |
| 1 yr | 18% |
| 2 yrs | 23% |
| 3-4 yrs | 29% |
| 5-7 yrs | 22% |
| 8-9 yrs | 3% |
| 10+ yrs | 3% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 89%, Part-time 11% of the 385 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a training specialist: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Training Coordinator | 211 (10.6%) |
| Training Manager | 175 (8.8%) |
| Technical Trainer | 126 (6.3%) |
| Training Specialist | 94 (4.7%) |
| Training Supervisor | 58 (2.9%) |
| Learning & Development Specialist | 53 (2.7%) |
| Training Lead | 44 (2.2%) |
| Trainer | 44 (2.2%) |
| Sales Trainer | 41 (2.1%) |
| Learning and Development Specialist | 39 (2.0%) |
| Field Trainer | 39 (2.0%) |
| Training and Development Specialist | 33 (1.7%) |
| Safety Trainer | 33 (1.7%) |
| Talent Development Specialist | 33 (1.7%) |
| Training and development | 28 (1.4%) |
| Operations Trainer | 27 (1.4%) |
| Director of Training | 27 (1.4%) |
| Learning & Development Manager | 26 (1.3%) |
| Corporate Trainer | 25 (1.3%) |
| Training & Development Specialist | 25 (1.3%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Training specialist job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trainer | 147 | 44 | – | – | – |
Training Specialist compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training Specialist | $84K | 3 years | 3,747 | – |
| Operations Manager | $85K | 3 years | 12,850 | 19 |
| Instructional Designer | – | 3 years | 805 | 17 |
| Event Coordinator | $62K | 2 years | 2,526 | 19 |
| Strategy Manager | $150K | 5 years | 1,905 | 15 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Manager | 19 | $85K |
| Instructional Designer | 17 | – |
| Event Coordinator | 19 | $62K |
| Strategy Manager | 15 | $150K |
| Administrative Assistant | 15 | $21.50/hr |
| Health and Safety Specialist | 16 | $100K |
Applying for training specialist jobs?
- Training specialist resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find training specialist jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a training specialist make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.