Training and Development Specialist Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Training and Development Specialists earn a median of $69,280 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 36% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $33.31/hr. The middle half earn between $50,110 and $95,050. The top 10% earn $123,250 or more.

The median hourly wage for training and development specialists is $33.31 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $69,280 annual median works out to about $5,770 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of training and development specialists earn less than $38,760 a year and the bottom quarter less than $50,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

A minority do. $100,000 sits between the 75th percentile ($95,050) and the 90th ($123,250), so roughly 10% to 25% of training and development specialists earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is Delaware at $88,570.

The highest state medians for Training and Development Specialists are Delaware ($88,570), New Hampshire ($86,050), Alaska ($81,860) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split training and development specialists' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $123,250, against a median of $69,280 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Delaware ($88,570), New Hampshire ($86,050), Alaska ($81,860). BLS also counts 2 specialty careers inside this occupation (executive coach, learning experience designer), which share its federal pay figures.

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Training and Development Specialists, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. Employers typically expect less than 5 years of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 78.3% hold bachelor's degree.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for training and development specialists is a bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation. O*NET classes the work as needing considerable preparation.

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 10.8% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 46,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Training and development specialists plan and administer programs that train employees and improve their skills and knowledge. A core O*NET task: present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Data base management system software, Data base user interface and query software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 39% of training and development specialists usually work more than 40 hours a week, 61% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 74% say their schedule is regular and 26% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Training and Development Specialists highest on the Social, Investigative and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ENFJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 54.4% of training and development specialists, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 22.9% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 42.1 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.