Children's counselor vs youth counselor

The differences between children's counselors and youth 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 children's counselor and a youth counselor. Additionally, a children's counselor has an average salary of $38,024, which is higher than the $36,754 average annual salary of a youth counselor.

The top three skills for a children's counselor include child care, social work and mental health. The most important skills for a youth counselor are direct care, mental health, and crisis intervention.

Children's counselor vs youth counselor overview

	Children's Counselor	Youth Counselor
Yearly salary	$38,024	$36,754
Hourly rate	$18.28	$17.67
Growth rate	9%	12%
Number of jobs	39,726	78,461
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	4	4

Children's counselor vs youth counselor salary

Children's counselors and youth counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Children's Counselor	Youth Counselor
Average salary	$38,024	$36,754
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $66,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Torrance, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	Lake County	New York State Restaurant Association
Best paying industry	Government	Professional

Differences between children's counselor and youth counselor education

There are a few differences between a children's counselor and a youth counselor in terms of educational background:

	Children's Counselor	Youth Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Long Beach

Children's counselor vs youth counselor demographics

Here are the differences between children's counselors' and youth counselors' demographics:

	Children's Counselor	Youth Counselor
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9%	Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2%
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%

Differences between children's counselor and youth counselor duties and responsibilities

Children's counselor example responsibilities.

Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
Develop and attend treatment plan and IEP meetings for adolescents with mental diagnosis.
Maintain IEP goals and classroom management.
Provide behavior modification and social skills training to children and adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and emotional disorders.

Youth counselor example responsibilities.

Instruct students in course work including: reading, writing, mathematics, behavior modification, and social skills.
Train in physical restraint, conflict resolution, first aide, CPR, blood borne pathogen management and universal precautions.
Complete functional assessment evaluations of residents and write individualized rehabilitation goals that encourage community integration.
Monitor behavior, safety and location of juvenile residents that are court mandate, psychological/behavioral disorders, physical disabilities and autism.
Maintain high standards of cleanliness and presentation in all back-of-house areas and customer areas.
Supervise teens on maintaining cleanliness of cottage, individual rooms and their individual appearance.

Children's counselor vs youth counselor skills

Common children's counselor skills

Child Care, 22%
Social Work, 12%
Mental Health, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 8%
Group Therapy, 7%
Family Therapy, 4%

Common youth counselor skills

Direct Care, 8%
Mental Health, 8%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
CPR, 7%
Social Work, 7%
Necessary Paperwork, 6%