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The differences between counselors and life coaches can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a life coach has an average salary of $41,947, which is higher than the $36,225 average annual salary of a counselor.
The top three skills for a counselor include patients, crisis intervention and substance abuse. The most important skills for a life coach are relationship building, mental health, and crisis intervention.
| Counselor | Life Coach | |
| Yearly salary | $36,225 | $41,947 |
| Hourly rate | $17.42 | $20.17 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 20% |
| Number of jobs | 77,536 | 25,642 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 44 | 36 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
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.
A Life Coach specializes in presenting techniques and mental roadmaps to help clients progress towards their short and long-term goals in various aspects of life. Their responsibilities include facilitating discussions in a one-on-one or group setting, identifying the clients' needs, developing action plans and other strategies to reach goals, and encouraging the clients' progress. A Life Coach may also create various projects and programs to help clients navigate through multiple paths and obstacles, providing support along the way.
Counselors and life coaches have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Counselor | Life Coach | |
| Average salary | $36,225 | $41,947 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $67,000 | Between $27,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a counselor and a life coach in terms of educational background:
| Counselor | Life Coach | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between counselors' and life coaches' demographics:
| Counselor | Life Coach | |
| Average age | 44 | 36 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5% | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |