Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between family counselors and service counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a family counselor, becoming a service counselor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a family counselor has an average salary of $41,510, which is higher than the $35,402 average annual salary of a service counselor.
The top three skills for a family counselor include social work, community resources and POC. The most important skills for a service counselor are social work, crisis intervention, and patients.
| Family Counselor | Service Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $41,510 | $35,402 |
| Hourly rate | $19.96 | $17.02 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 93,253 | 44,284 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A Family Counselor treats married couples or family members in order to help them overcome mental or emotional problems. They provide effective treatment measures to help the family members resolve their issues.
Service counselors provide guidance to couples, individuals, groups, and families who are going through issues that influence their well-being and mental health. They comprehensively approach their clients by utilizing a "wellness" model that focuses on and motivate the client's potentials. Their duties include inspiring clients to talk about their emotions and experiences, helping them determine their action plans and goals, as well as designing therapeutic methods. Also, they may refer their clients to other services or psychologists.
Family counselors and service counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Family Counselor | Service Counselor | |
| Average salary | $41,510 | $35,402 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $62,000 | Between $24,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | New York | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Shirley Ryan AbilityLab | |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Education |
There are a few differences between a family counselor and a service counselor in terms of educational background:
| Family Counselor | Service Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between family counselors' and service counselors' demographics:
| Family Counselor | Service Counselor | |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7% | Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 11% |