Best degree programs for Training and Development Specialists, ranked by enrollment
7 college programs and 824 schools train Training and Development Specialists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $69,280 median wage, 458,300 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
7 college programs at 824 schools train training and development specialists, graduating 37,019 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General. The job pays a median of $69,280 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About training and development specialists
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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
7 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.1001 | 18,033 | 48.7% | 518 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 2 | CIP 13.0501 | 9,475 | 25.6% | 298 | $40,786 | $33,629 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1005 | 3,502 | 9.5% | 76 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 4 | CIP 42.2804 | 3,169 | 8.6% | 127 | $33,805 | $27,000 |
| 5 | CIP 09.0901 | 1,805 | 4.9% | 79 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1201 | 942 | 2.5% | 67 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 7 | CIP 52.1006 | 93 | 0.3% | 9 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What training and development specialists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | $60,900 | 6,140 | 1.20× | 7 | 5,878 |
| Arizona | $67,140 | — | — | 19 | 3,180 |
| Texas | $62,860 | 46,630 | 1.12× | 48 | 2,113 |
| Georgia | $67,320 | 16,200 | 1.12× | 37 | 1,956 |
| New Hampshire | $86,050 | — | — | 5 | 1,906 |
| Minnesota | $76,710 | 9,650 | 1.11× | 25 | 1,626 |
| New York | $76,080 | 27,460 | 0.96× | 48 | 1,378 |
| Indiana | $61,050 | 8,450 | 0.90× | 18 | 1,328 |
| Pennsylvania | $71,350 | 14,780 | 0.83× | 50 | 1,301 |
| California | $75,790 | 46,530 | 0.87× | 42 | 1,264 |
| Illinois | $67,380 | 15,140 | 0.84× | 45 | 1,241 |
| Florida | $71,990 | 34,130 | 1.17× | 29 | 1,104 |
| Ohio | $64,780 | 17,690 | 1.08× | 41 | 1,042 |
| Maryland | $76,370 | 9,800 | 1.20× | 12 | 874 |
| Michigan | $64,350 | 10,640 | 0.82× | 27 | 824 |
| Alabama | $64,490 | 3,000 | 0.48× | 17 | 689 |
| West Virginia | $64,960 | 1,710 | 0.83× | 6 | 639 |
| New Jersey | $77,020 | 9,210 | 0.73× | 16 | 624 |
| Wisconsin | $70,770 | 9,360 | 1.08× | 29 | 570 |
| Massachusetts | $80,270 | 12,190 | 1.14× | 22 | 568 |
| Missouri | $58,670 | — | — | 21 | 545 |
| North Carolina | $65,250 | 20,220 | 1.39× | 19 | 488 |
| Connecticut | $78,080 | 3,650 | 0.73× | 12 | 399 |
| Virginia | $77,690 | 15,570 | 1.29× | 13 | 389 |
| Colorado | $75,790 | 12,100 | 1.43× | 10 | 384 |
| South Carolina | $63,070 | 6,960 | 1.03× | 13 | 355 |
| Idahomoderate | $61,720 | 2,430 | 0.96× | 4 | 354 |
| Louisiana | $58,070 | 3,030 | 0.53× | 9 | 319 |
| Tennessee | $62,280 | 9,370 | 0.97× | 18 | 300 |
| District of Columbia | $80,980 | 1,900 | 0.92× | 8 | 298 |
| Kentucky | $61,390 | 6,090 | 1.03× | 12 | 288 |
| Kansas | $62,010 | 5,150 | 1.22× | 15 | 260 |
| Iowa | $66,110 | 4,670 | 1.02× | 14 | 229 |
| Delaware | $88,570 | 1,590 | 1.11× | 5 | 202 |
| Nebraska | $65,700 | 3,650 | 1.21× | 6 | 196 |
| Washington | $81,860 | 8,130 | 0.78× | 12 | 196 |
| Oklahoma | $61,040 | 5,440 | 1.08× | 12 | 182 |
| Arkansas | $52,290 | 3,880 | 1.01× | 10 | 173 |
| Oregon | $76,360 | 5,190 | 0.90× | 9 | 145 |
| Mississippimoderate | $53,680 | 2,820 | 0.82× | 4 | 116 |
| Rhode Islandmoderate | $75,910 | 1,130 | 0.77× | 4 | 85 |
| Hawaiilimited | $60,960 | 1,200 | 0.65× | 2 | 72 |
| Maine | $65,680 | 1,600 | 0.85× | 6 | 61 |
| Wyominglimited | $69,380 | 550 | 0.67× | 2 | 46 |
| Vermontlimited | $77,800 | 750 | 0.84× | 2 | 43 |
| South Dakota | $61,570 | 520 | 0.39× | 5 | 35 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $63,260 | 670 | 0.53× | 4 | 22 |
| Alaskalimited | $81,860 | 530 | 0.55× | 2 | 21 |
| Montanalimited | $62,880 | 900 | 0.59× | 1 | 10 |
| New Mexicolimited | $62,900 | 2,190 | 0.85× | 1 | 10 |
| Nevadalimited | $61,350 | 3,440 | 0.75× | 1 | 6 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Monitor, evaluate, or record training activities or program effectiveness.
- Design, plan, organize, or direct orientation and training programs for employees or customers.
- Develop alternative training methods if expected improvements are not seen.
Skills
- Speaking4.4
- Learning Strategies4.1
- Active Listening4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Writing3.9
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Monitoring3.9
- Active Learning3.9
Knowledge areas
- Education and Training4.7
- Customer and Personal Service4.0
- English Language3.8
- Personnel and Human Resources3.5
- Administration and Management3.5
- Psychology3.4
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.1
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Speech Clarity4.0
- Speech Recognition4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
- Written Expression4.0
Core activities
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.6
- Training and Teaching Others4.6
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.3
- Coaching and Developing Others4.3
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
- Getting Information4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Training
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Training and Development Specialists7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0901Organizational Communication, General
- 13.0501Educational/Instructional Technology
- 13.1201Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching
- 42.2804Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
- 52.1005Human Resources Development
- 52.1006Executive/Career Coaching
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Training?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General, which awarded 18,033 degrees in 2024-25, 48.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Training?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Resources Management and Services, Educational/Instructional Media Design, Clinical, Public Relations, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 37,019 people a year.
How much do training and development specialists earn?+
The median is $69,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $38,760 at the 10th percentile to $123,250 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for training and development specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +10.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 43,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
824 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do training and development specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Corporate Trainer, Training Specialist, Job Training Specialist, Learning and Development Specialist (L and D Specialist) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1151.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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