How To Become A Drug Abuse Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a drug abuse counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Meredith Bertrand,

Dr. Chantrelle Varnado-Johnson

The average drug abuse counselor salary is $49,420. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an psychology major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a drug abuse counselor. Drug abuse counselors with a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 9,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a drug abuse counselor?

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

Chair of Education; Associate Professor of Education, Elms College

History is ever-changing, and teachers must clarify how current events are just as much a part of the study of history as any other socio-political period or event. If you are not comparing the civil rights movement of today to the ongoing civil rights movements of the past, and if you are not supporting the campaign against oppression and institutional racism upon which our nation was built, then you are doing continuous harm to those who need you to act and disrupt the cycle. History teachers better be ready to be activists, not just teachers, or else you are perpetuating the status quo.

ScoreDrug Abuse CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,420

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.9

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%

Asian 4.56%

Black or African American 11.43%

Hispanic or Latino 15.39%

Unknown 4.56%

White 63.21%

Gender

female 63.90%

male 36.10%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

9.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a drug abuse counselor

Explore drug abuse counselor education requirements

Most common drug abuse counselor degrees

Bachelor's

57.5 %

Master's

22.7 %

Associate

12.5 %

Start to develop specific drug abuse counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	14.45%
Drug Abuse	10.41%
Substance Abuse Education	10.05%
Discharge Summaries	9.59%
Methadone	6.39%

Complete relevant drug abuse counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New drug abuse counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a drug abuse counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real drug abuse counselor resumes.

Research drug abuse counselor duties and responsibilities

Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Consult with physicians regarding increase or decrease of methadone dosage.
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to patients.
Provide individual counseling services to opioid dependent clients in outpatient methadone maintenance treatment.

Prepare your drug abuse counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your drug abuse counselor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a drug abuse counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable drug abuse counselor resume templates

Build a professional drug abuse counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your drug abuse counselor resume.

Apply for drug abuse counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a drug abuse counselor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do drug abuse counselors rate their job?

-/5

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1 star

Drug abuse counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Cons

The over documentation required by DHS that robs the quality time needed in intervention and treatment. This lopsided demand makes the term “best practices” mere bureaucratic lip service without the means to actually deliver quality hands on services.