Recovering from an addiction is never easy, which is why there are addictions counselors to help patients overcome their habits in the healthiest of ways. As an addictions counselor, your duties will revolve around helping people overcome their dependence on drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances.
These duties include assessing clients' backgrounds, reviewing charts, recommending proper treatment options, and providing counseling. You are also responsible for keeping track of each client's progress by keeping a detailed log of the results of their counseling sessions, treatments, and other steps involved in the recovery process. Moreover, you may also point clients to benefits and other services available to them, such as government aid and community programs.
When hiring for this position, most employers look for candidates with a bachelor's or master's degree in mental health counseling, psychology, social work, and other related fields. You must also have prior experience working with addicted individuals as well as proper certification as required in your state.
When you become an addictions counselor, you can expect an average salary of $46,000 per year. In terms of opportunities, you can find jobs in rehabilitation centers, healthcare facilities, community services, and other places that offer treatment to addicts.
How to Become an Addictions Counselor
What is an Addictions Counselor
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an Addictions Counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.12 an hour? That's $37,686 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 13% and produce 52,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Addictions Counselor Do
There are certain skills that many Addictions Counselors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Communication skills, Compassion and Interpersonal skills.
How To Become an Addictions Counselor
If you're interested in becoming an Addictions Counselor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 53.3% of Addictions Counselors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 27.2% of Addictions Counselors have master's degrees. Even though most Addictions Counselors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an Addictions Counselor. When we researched the most common majors for an Addictions Counselor, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Addictions Counselor resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an Addictions Counselor. In fact, many Addictions Counselor jobs require experience in a role such as Internship. Meanwhile, many Addictions Counselors also have previous career experience in roles such as Counselor or Case Manager.
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Addictions Counselor Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an Addictions Counselor can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Case Manager, progress to a title such as Registered Nurse Case Manager and then eventually end up with the title Clinical Services Director.
Addictions Counselor Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for an Addictions Counselor
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12 Addictions Counselor Resume Examples
Build a professional addictions counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your addictions counselor resume.
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Thomas Peterson Addictions Counselor |
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Gary Evans Addictions Counselor Experience Addictions Counselor2020 - Present WINDSOR LAURELWOOD CENT FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH•Phoenix, AZ
Clinical Counselor2018 - 2020 Native American Connections•Phoenix, AZ
Primary Counselor2012 - 2017 Western Services•Phoenix, AZ
Skills Treatment PlansEAPAnger ManagementSubstance AbuseTraumaService DeliveryCrisis InterventionPsychosocial AssessmentsCommunicationProbation Officers Education Master's Degree Psychology2017 - 2018 Arizona State University•Phoenix, AZ Bachelor's Degree Psychology2009 - 2012 Arizona State University•Phoenix, AZ |
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Learn How To Write an Addictions Counselor Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Addictions Counselor resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Addictions Counselor Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Addictions Counselor Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Addictions Counselor templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Addictions Counselor resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Addictions Counselor Demographics
Addictions Counselor Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Addictions Counselors, 64.6% of them are women, while 35.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Addictions Counselors is White, which makes up 64.5% of all Addictions Counselors.
- The most common foreign language among Addictions Counselors is Spanish at 69.5%.
Find the best Addictions Counselor job for you
Addictions Counselor Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Addictions Counselor Jobs - $53K and Up
- Work From Home Addictions Counselor Jobs
- Entry Level Addictions Counselor Jobs
- Part Time Addictions Counselor Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Addictions Counselor Jobs
Top Colleges for Addictions Counselors
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
4. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
6. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
7. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
10. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Find the best Addictions Counselor job for you
Addictions Counselor Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Addictions Counselor Jobs - $53K and Up
- Work From Home Addictions Counselor Jobs
- Entry Level Addictions Counselor Jobs
- Part Time Addictions Counselor Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Addictions Counselor Jobs
Online Courses For Addictions Counselor That You May Like
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions: Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health - Integrative Holistic Approach...
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions - Understand Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health. How to help people...
Working with alcohol and drugs addictions, substance misuse and rehabilitation helper, counselling, psychotherapy, coach...
Top Skills For an Addictions Counselor
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.9% of Addictions Counselors listed Treatment Plans on their resume, but soft skills such as Communication skills and Compassion are important as well.
Best States For an Addictions Counselor
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an Addictions Counselor. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Nevada. Addictions Counselors make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $46,784. Whereas in New Hampshire and Delaware, they would average $42,982 and $41,400, respectively. While Addictions Counselors would only make an average of $40,713 in Nevada, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$46,784
Avg. Salary
2. New Hampshire
$42,982
Avg. Salary
3. Rhode Island
$40,303
Avg. Salary
How Do Addictions Counselor Rate Their Jobs?
Addictions Counselor Videos
