Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between compliance officers and general counsels can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a general counsel has an average salary of $125,248, which is higher than the $64,058 average annual salary of a compliance officer.
The top three skills for a compliance officer include oversight, risk management and compliance program. The most important skills for a general counsel are litigation, legal issues, and legal advice.
| Compliance Officer | General Counsel | |
| Yearly salary | $64,058 | $125,248 |
| Hourly rate | $30.80 | $60.22 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 69,161 | 50,275 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A compliance officer is responsible for monitoring company operations, ensuring that all the processes and members are adhering to the regulatory and procedural policies set by the company. Compliance officers' duties also include proposing compliance programs, reviewing and updating existing company policies with management approval, taking immediate actions for policy violations, and mitigating risks. A compliance officer must have extensive knowledge of legal procedures and regulatory standards to manage and evaluate problems, providing meaningful solutions, and keep the company's positive reputation.
A general counsel, also called a chief legal officer, is the chief lawyer in the legal department of an organization. The counsel represents an enterprise for any pending legal matters. They work proactively to lessen possible problems associated with legalities and potential risks. They have to monitor practices and the people within the law firm for misconduct. They also perform dominant roles in regulation, ethics, public affairs, and legislation. It is common for them to serve as the public spokesperson of the company during the publicity of legal matters.
Compliance officers and general counsels have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Compliance Officer | General Counsel | |
| Average salary | $64,058 | $125,248 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $96,000 | Between $75,000 And $208,000 |
| Highest paying City | Wilmington, DE | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Martin's Point Health Care |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a compliance officer and a general counsel in terms of educational background:
| Compliance Officer | General Counsel | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Law |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between compliance officers' and general counsels' demographics:
| Compliance Officer | General Counsel | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.8% Female, 51.2% | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |