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The differences between adoption specialists and counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an adoption specialist has an average salary of $41,070, which is higher than the $36,225 average annual salary of a counselor.
The top three skills for an adoption specialist include foster care, social work and adoption process. The most important skills for a counselor are patients, crisis intervention, and substance abuse.
| Adoption Specialist | Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $41,070 | $36,225 |
| Hourly rate | $19.75 | $17.42 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 84,209 | 77,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
Adoption Specialists are responsible for evaluating and arranging both adoptive parents' and child's needs to ensure a good family fit. Their duties include undertaking adoption research on families, completing paperwork requirements, carrying out adoption education for families before and following children's placements at their house, and assisting in post-placement services. They are also responsible for developing adoption plans, act as main family advisors, and organize community resources needed by both adoptive parents and children, such as education, health care, and counseling.
Often, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being. Counselors face different kind of situations which may involve trauma, addiction, disabilities, abuse, suicide, anger management, career, and even personal relationships. They provide care, counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Every counseling requires collaborative effort both from the counselor and client to become effective.
Adoption specialists and counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Adoption Specialist | Counselor | |
| Average salary | $41,070 | $36,225 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $57,000 | Between $19,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between an adoption specialist and a counselor in terms of educational background:
| Adoption Specialist | Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between adoption specialists' and counselors' demographics:
| Adoption Specialist | Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 3.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |