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The differences between child care counselors 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 a child care counselor and a program counselor. Additionally, a program counselor has an average salary of $43,820, 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 program counselor are developmental disabilities, patients, and community integration.
| Child Care Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $36,843 | $43,820 |
| Hourly rate | $17.71 | $21.07 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 100,538 | 133,491 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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.
Child care counselors and program counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Care Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Average salary | $36,843 | $43,820 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $33,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chicago, IL | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Washington State University | Russell Sage College |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a child care counselor and a program counselor in terms of educational background:
| Child Care Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between child care counselors' and program counselors' demographics:
| Child Care Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% | 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% |