Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between counseling directors and program leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a counseling director and a program lead. Additionally, a program lead has an average salary of $100,727, which is higher than the $80,811 average annual salary of a counseling director.
The top three skills for a counseling director include human resources, litigation and legal advice. The most important skills for a program lead are project management, HR, and work ethic.
| Counseling Director | Program Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $80,811 | $100,727 |
| Hourly rate | $38.85 | $48.43 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 7,801 | 61,632 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A counseling director oversees the daily activities of a clinic or counseling facility. They make decisions in adherence with the establishments' goals, manage staff, delegate responsibilities, and conduct assessments and reviews to ensure that clients receive optimal services. They may also participate in facilitating individual or group sessions, monitoring the clients' progress, and hiring and training employees. A counseling director leads staff to reach the facility's goals and implements the facility's standards and regulations.
A program lead is responsible for managing a business program's operation from its conceptualization to implementation. Program leads must have excellent communication and researching skills to monitor current industry trends, adjusting program techniques and strategies to meet society's demands. They have a clear understanding of the organization's long-term goals and outline plans to define those objectives, bringing new programs to light following clients' specifications that would help the business grow revenues, maintain customer satisfaction, and keep its good reputation, and achieve profitability goals.
Counseling directors and program leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Counseling Director | Program Lead | |
| Average salary | $80,811 | $100,727 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $142,000 | Between $59,000 And $171,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Palo Alto Networks | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a counseling director and a program lead in terms of educational background:
| Counseling Director | Program Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between counseling directors' and program leads' demographics:
| Counseling Director | Program Lead | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9% | Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |