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The differences between child care counselors and child psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a child care counselor, becoming a child psychologist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a child psychologist has an average salary of $78,743, which is higher than the $36,843 average annual salary of a child care counselor.
The top three skills for a child care counselor include CPR, child care and behavioral issues. The most important skills for a child psychologist are autism, mental health, and family therapy.
| Child Care Counselor | Child Psychologist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,843 | $78,743 |
| Hourly rate | $17.71 | $37.86 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 100,538 | 22,815 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
Child care counselors monitor the progress of children who have behavioral, physical, and mental issues in between counseling appointments. These counselors create daily schedules for children that include field trips, play dates, and learning plans to ensure that children get the most out of their days. They use their critical thinking skills, organizational skills, and interpersonal skills to deal with children diagnosed with psychological issues and to coordinate with their patients' families. Most of the cases they handle are the abuse, bullying, and past traumas of children.
Child Psychologists evaluate and treat adolescents and children. They help children to cope with stresses such as school or family transitions, deaths, and divorces. Their clients may include children with different developmental issues, from learning disabilities to severe mental illness. A partial list of problems they treat has autism, obsessive-compulsive order, attention deficit disorder, adjustment disorder, and phobias. Their job is to endorse the best diagnosis to a complex set of symptoms presented. Moreover, a Clinical Child Psychologist is considered a health service provider.
Child care counselors and child psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Care Counselor | Child Psychologist | |
| Average salary | $36,843 | $78,743 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $54,000 And $114,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chicago, IL | - |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | - |
| Best paying company | Washington State University | - |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a child care counselor and a child psychologist in terms of educational background:
| Child Care Counselor | Child Psychologist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between child care counselors' and child psychologists' demographics:
| Child Care Counselor | Child Psychologist | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% | Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 12% |