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The differences between counseling specialists and counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a counseling specialist has an average salary of $44,061, which is higher than the $36,225 average annual salary of a counselor.
The top three skills for a counseling specialist include social work, mental health and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a counselor are patients, crisis intervention, and substance abuse.
| Counseling Specialist | Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $44,061 | $36,225 |
| Hourly rate | $21.18 | $17.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 64,404 | 77,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A counseling specialist guides groups, families, or individuals dealing with mental well-being or mental health issues. These professionals approach their duties holistically by implementing a 'wellness' model that identifies and promotes the client's strengths. Besides developing therapeutic processes and encouraging clients to share their experiences and emotions, counseling specialists also refer the clients to professional psychologists and more services. They work with families and examine aging, relationships, suicide, stress, depression, self-image, careers, bullying, substance abuse, anger management, and LGBTQ issues.
Often, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being. Counselors face different kind of situations which may involve trauma, addiction, disabilities, abuse, suicide, anger management, career, and even personal relationships. They provide care, counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Every counseling requires collaborative effort both from the counselor and client to become effective.
Counseling specialists and counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Counseling Specialist | Counselor | |
| Average salary | $44,061 | $36,225 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $59,000 | Between $19,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Chicago Public Schools | - |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Education |
There are a few differences between a counseling specialist and a counselor in terms of educational background:
| Counseling Specialist | Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Boston University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between counseling specialists' and counselors' demographics:
| Counseling Specialist | Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4% | Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5% |
| 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, 15.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 3.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |