How To Become A Chaplain Resident: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chaplain resident and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A chaplain resident isn't your typical clergy. They are responsible for leading nondenominational religious services and for providing spiritual guidance to people. Because they are nondenominational, they work in various environments like schools, prisons, hospitals, and even the military.

If you become a Chaplain, you'll be something of a pastor to all people because you'll offer spiritual counsel to people who don't have access to services of their own faith. You may counsel Judaists, Buddhists, and Christians all within a week. As a result, you'll need sufficient knowledge about all these religions and the versatility to connect with their believers.

A resident chaplain is employed in a particular establishment and is required to be available around the clock for people who need guidance. Many employers won't consider you a qualified chaplain until you complete a degree program in some relevant theology and counseling areas. Some universities and seminaries also offer specialized Chaplain training.

ScoreChaplain ResidentUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,343

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 6.66%

Black or African American 11.85%

Hispanic or Latino 9.06%

Unknown 4.00%

White 68.00%

Gender

female 42.59%

male 57.41%

Age - 52

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 - 52

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chaplain resident

Explore chaplain resident education requirements

Most common chaplain resident degrees

Master's

48.0 %

Bachelor's

40.0 %

Doctorate

4.7 %

Start to develop specific chaplain resident skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	27.26%
Clinical Pastoral Education	10.48%
Spiritual Care	8.49%
Pastoral Care	7.71%
Residency	5.47%

Complete relevant chaplain resident training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chaplain residents 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 chaplain resident based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chaplain resident resumes.

Research chaplain resident duties and responsibilities

Manage pediatrics emergencies, indoor & outdoor patients, neonatal & intensive care units.
Provide pastoral care and facilitate spiritual assessments of mental illness patients with substance abuse, moral injury and spiritual pain/conflict.
Provide referrals and assist with Medicaid and Medicare issues.
Assign units include psychiatric (adult and pediatric), labor/delivery, oncology, and medical/surgical.

Prepare your chaplain resident resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chaplain resident 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 chaplain resident resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable chaplain resident resume templates

Build a professional chaplain resident 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 chaplain resident resume.