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The differences between adoption specialists and program counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an adoption specialist and a program counselor. Additionally, a program counselor has an average salary of $43,820, which is higher than the $41,070 average annual salary of an adoption specialist.
The top three skills for an adoption specialist include foster care, social work and adoption process. The most important skills for a program counselor are developmental disabilities, patients, and community integration.
| Adoption Specialist | Program Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $41,070 | $43,820 |
| Hourly rate | $19.75 | $21.07 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 84,209 | 133,491 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 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.
A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.
Adoption specialists and program counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Adoption Specialist | Program Counselor | |
| Average salary | $41,070 | $43,820 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $57,000 | Between $33,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Russell Sage College |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an adoption specialist and a program counselor in terms of educational background:
| Adoption Specialist | Program Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between adoption specialists' and program counselors' demographics:
| Adoption Specialist | Program Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% |
| 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, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 15% |