Drug abuse technician vs counselor

The differences between drug abuse technicians and counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a counselor has an average salary of $36,225, which is higher than the $29,180 average annual salary of a drug abuse technician.

The top three skills for a drug abuse technician include drug screens, alcohol screens and drug tests. The most important skills for a counselor are patients, crisis intervention, and substance abuse.

Drug abuse technician vs counselor overview

	Drug Abuse Technician	Counselor
Yearly salary	$29,180	$36,225
Hourly rate	$14.03	$17.42
Growth rate	9%	10%
Number of jobs	87,872	77,536
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	39	44
Years of experience	6	-

Drug abuse technician vs counselor salary

Drug abuse technicians and counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Drug Abuse Technician	Counselor
Average salary	$29,180	$36,225
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $37,000	Between $19,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Dana Point, CA	-
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	Choctaw Nation Of Oklahoma	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between drug abuse technician and counselor education

There are a few differences between a drug abuse technician and a counselor in terms of educational background:

	Drug Abuse Technician	Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Psychology
Most common college	San Diego State University	University of Pennsylvania

Drug abuse technician vs counselor demographics

Here are the differences between drug abuse technicians' and counselors' demographics:

	Drug Abuse Technician	Counselor
Average age	39	44
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	12%	9%

Differences between drug abuse technician and counselor duties and responsibilities

Drug abuse technician example responsibilities.

Work with outside counsel to develop patent and trademark portfolio and manage patent litigation.
Complete intake procedures for new clients including UA's.
Compose written reports of data collect from patient evaluation and present to department chief for thorough analysis of patient diagnosis.
Administer state require DWI protocols including breathalyzer tests and obtaining specimens.

Counselor example responsibilities.

Maintain a safe program through ongoing CPI training.
Utilize de-escalation skills (CPI) when necessary.
Instill confidence, improve all components of writing and reading, and study strategies.
Arrange ESL tutoring and perform as liaison between students, parents, and school administrators.
Advise students into their major field of study, and assisting them with choosing the correct curriculum.
Operate a full service litigation office that evolve from general litigation to criminal litigation to federal criminal trials.

Drug abuse technician vs counselor skills

Common drug abuse technician skills

Drug Screens, 17%
Alcohol Screens, 17%
Drug Tests, 14%
Test Results, 12%
Vital Signs, 8%
Custody Procedures, 6%

Common counselor skills

Patients, 13%
Crisis Intervention, 12%
Substance Abuse, 12%
Social Work, 10%
Community Resources, 4%
CPR, 4%