Post job

Early intervention specialist vs counselor

The differences between early intervention specialists and counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an early intervention specialist has an average salary of $46,103, which is higher than the $36,225 average annual salary of a counselor.

The top three skills for an early intervention specialist include early intervention, developmental disabilities and applied behavior analysis. The most important skills for a counselor are patients, crisis intervention, and substance abuse.

Early intervention specialist vs counselor overview

Early Intervention SpecialistCounselor
Yearly salary$46,103$36,225
Hourly rate$22.16$17.42
Growth rate9%10%
Number of jobs22,03377,536
Job satisfaction-2
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age4244
Years of experience4-

What does an early intervention specialist do?

Early intervention specialists are responsible for determining and helping youth who are manifesting deficiencies in the fundamental areas of learning. They are trained teachers who work with youngsters between birth and age four to direct developmental impediments. Also, they have an essential role in bridging children and their families with other social service workers. Their jobs include carefully evaluating the child, establishing developmental goals, creating medication plans, recommending learning activities, and keeping track of the child's progress.

What does a counselor do?

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.

Early intervention specialist vs counselor salary

Early intervention specialists and counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Early Intervention SpecialistCounselor
Average salary$46,103$36,225
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $70,000Between $19,000 And $67,000
Highest paying CityAnchorage, AK-
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyChildren's Hospital Los Angeles-
Best paying industryProfessionalEducation

Differences between early intervention specialist and counselor education

There are a few differences between an early intervention specialist and a counselor in terms of educational background:

Early Intervention SpecialistCounselor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachUniversity of Pennsylvania

Early intervention specialist vs counselor demographics

Here are the differences between early intervention specialists' and counselors' demographics:

Early Intervention SpecialistCounselor
Average age4244
Gender ratioMale, 13.0% Female, 87.0%Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%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 Percentage10%9%

Differences between early intervention specialist and counselor duties and responsibilities

Early intervention specialist example responsibilities.

  • Experience training new staff on basic ABA principles and new cases.
  • Strive to reduce symptoms of specify developmental disorder, usually an autism spectrum disorder.
  • Train paraprofessionals to work with children on the autism spectrum and implement picture schedules for optimal learning.
  • Instruct families on how to use adaptive equipment or help them use the tool in their environment.
  • Coordinate services for child base on recommendations specific educational needs, including specialize adaptive equipment and individual therapies.
  • Coordinate with local special education preschool child find teams evaluations and IEP meetings.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Early intervention specialist vs counselor skills

Common early intervention specialist skills
  • Early Intervention, 17%
  • Developmental Disabilities, 11%
  • Applied Behavior Analysis, 9%
  • Child Development, 7%
  • Social Development, 7%
  • Emotional Development, 7%
Common counselor skills
  • Patients, 13%
  • Crisis Intervention, 12%
  • Substance Abuse, 12%
  • Social Work, 10%
  • Community Resources, 4%
  • CPR, 4%

Browse community and social services jobs