College adviser vs academic adviser

The differences between college advisers and academic advisers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an academic adviser has an average salary of $46,729, which is higher than the $46,038 average annual salary of a college adviser.

The top three skills for a college adviser include financial aid applications, colleges and professional development. The most important skills for an academic adviser are customer service, student services, and financial aid.

College adviser vs academic adviser overview

	College Adviser	Academic Adviser
Yearly salary	$46,038	$46,729
Hourly rate	$22.13	$22.47
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	16,942	23,208
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a college adviser do?

The main role of a college adviser is to assist students in evaluating and realizing their career and educational options. College advisers offer intensive advising support to their advisees on a regular basis. They help them find their academic interests, determine additional support and information resources, and establish study plans for educational goals. Part of their job is to approve the academic study program of the students. Also, they facilitate the relationships between students and other advisers to career development.

What does an academic adviser do?

An academic adviser is responsible for managing the students' educational goals and future career aspirations by encouraging them to join scholastic activities, conducting one-on-one discussions to identify their challenges and areas of improvement, and developing educational plans to address possible difficulties. Academic advisers also monitor the students' interests and abilities for a career setting, track the students' progress, and create engaging activities to observe the students' personal and social behavior. An academic adviser must have excellent communication skills and extensive knowledge of teaching principles and disciplines to handle different personalities.

College adviser vs academic adviser salary

College advisers and academic advisers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	College Adviser	Academic Adviser
Average salary	$46,038	$46,729
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $63,000	Between $35,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	Amherst, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	New York University	New York Film Academy
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between college adviser and academic adviser education

There are a few differences between a college adviser and an academic adviser in terms of educational background:

	College Adviser	Academic Adviser
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

College adviser vs academic adviser demographics

Here are the differences between college advisers' and academic advisers' demographics:

	College Adviser	Academic Adviser
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8%	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between college adviser and academic adviser duties and responsibilities

College adviser example responsibilities.

Manage presentations, assemblies, and club meetings to offer services and emphasize the necessity of post-secondary study.
Help interview, evaluate, select and mentor AmeriCorps applicants.
Communicate with graduating seniors on a regular basis over the summer by phone, Facebook and in person.
Utilize a CRM database (Salesforce) to update student contacts and to help leadership team to better support students.
Maintain and update student database in Salesforce.
Work with supervisor to complete volunteer activities for AmeriCorps.

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Academic adviser example responsibilities.

Coach and mentore students in determining optimal course of study to achieve specific career performance goals and certifications.
Interpret student records such as transcripts and IEP's.
Collect and analyze data for behaviors and IEP objectives.
Direct a team of four ESL teachers, implement school policies, teaching schedules, and activities clubs.
Organize all freshman and parent oreintation programs, assist in the freshman experience class, advise all undeclare students.
Create PowerPoint presentations used for curriculum development.

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College adviser vs academic adviser skills

Common college adviser skills

Financial Aid Applications, 16%
Colleges, 13%
Professional Development, 11%
FAFSA, 7%
Admissions Process, 6%
School Administration, 5%

Common academic adviser skills

Customer Service, 9%
Student Services, 8%
Financial Aid, 7%
Professional Development, 6%
Support Services, 5%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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