Hiring a training and development specialist in Seattle, WA

Employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area pay training and development specialists a median of $89,550, with the middle half of the market between $68,740 and $118,530. Seattle residents working in business and financial operations occupations report a median of $99,301, which is 11% above what the metro pays for this role.

What does a training and development specialist earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$68,740
Median	$89,550
75th percentile	$118,530

Half of training and development specialists in this area earn between $68,740 and $118,530. A band set below $68,740 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Seattle residents earn

$99,301

Median earnings of Seattle residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 39,124 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 11% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

Residents here already earn more than this role pays, so your offer is competing with whatever they currently commute to.

What does the role actually involve?

Core 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.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 13-1151.

Tools and technologies in demand

Learning management system LMS, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe After Effects.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Seattle?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 67.5% of Seattle adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Seattle commute runs 26.6 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 31.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In King County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 12,050 and turns over 9.5% a quarter, with 2,047 hires against 1,769 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $9,409 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about training and development specialists. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $17,910 to $26,865 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a training and development specialist somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other business and financial operations roles in Seattle

Seattle is the largest of 3 Washington cities in this dataset.