How To Become A Certified Lactation Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a certified lactation counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a certified lactation counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.66 an hour? That's $45,044 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 15,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a certified lactation counselor?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreCertified Lactation CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,044

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.4

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.38%

Asian 3.23%

Black or African American 11.28%

Hispanic or Latino 12.21%

Unknown 5.91%

White 67.00%

Gender

female 96.64%

male 3.36%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a certified lactation counselor

Explore certified lactation counselor education requirements

Most common certified lactation counselor degrees

Bachelor's

69.1 %

Associate

15.4 %

Master's

10.6 %

Start to develop specific certified lactation counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Infant Care	16.02%
WIC	12.81%
Nutrition Education	9.93%
Clinical Management	9.93%
Emotional Support	7.14%

Complete relevant certified lactation counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New certified lactation counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a certified lactation counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real certified lactation counselor resumes.

Research certified lactation counselor duties and responsibilities

Provide individual student planning to assist expulsion students in fulfilling their rehabilitation plan and re-entering the comprehensive school setting.
Help develop and maintain Aveda standards and educational requirements.

Prepare your certified lactation counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your certified lactation counselor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a certified lactation counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable certified lactation counselor resume templates

Build a professional certified lactation counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your certified lactation counselor resume.