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The differences between career coaches and therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a therapist has an average salary of $55,943, which is higher than the $41,858 average annual salary of a career coach.
The top three skills for a career coach include career development, professional development and career services. The most important skills for a therapist are social work, patients, and group therapy sessions.
| Career Coach | Therapist | |
| Yearly salary | $41,858 | $55,943 |
| Hourly rate | $20.12 | $26.90 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 42,622 | 159,770 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A career coach is responsible for helping a person reach their career goals and development by identifying their strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. Career coaches conduct one-on-one counseling with their clients to share career advice and support them for the professional path. They also build self-confidence in their clients and help them improve their relationship with other people. A career coach must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in mentoring their clients and managing career services according to their clients' needs.
A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.
Career coaches and therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Career Coach | Therapist | |
| Average salary | $41,858 | $55,943 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $57,000 | Between $39,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Hartwick College | Childhelp |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Government |
There are a few differences between a career coach and a therapist in terms of educational background:
| Career Coach | Therapist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between career coaches' and therapists' demographics:
| Career Coach | Therapist | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5% | Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |