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The differences between family workers and alcohol and drug 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 worker, becoming an alcohol and drug counselor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an alcohol and drug counselor has an average salary of $45,758, which is higher than the $36,992 average annual salary of a family worker.
The top three skills for a family worker include social work, foster care and child care. The most important skills for an alcohol and drug counselor are patients, social work, and crisis intervention.
| Family Worker | Alcohol And Drug Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $36,992 | $45,758 |
| Hourly rate | $17.78 | $22.00 |
| Growth rate | 9% | - |
| Number of jobs | 101,552 | 77,461 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A family worker's role is to provide an intervention with parents, children, and young persons to help improve outcomes for families and children. The job they do includes working with parents to help strengthen family relationships and their ability to provide support and be community involved closely. They implement a program that helps parents recognize a child's needs, encouraging child self-esteem development, and positive behavior. Moreover, other duties include giving referrals to other community services as required and to assess family progress.
A drug & alcohol counselor treats addicts in either one-on-one or group settings. They help by educating and developing possible treatment plans for patients to support them in coping with their addictive personalities. A drug and alcohol counselor will evaluate to determine the progress has been successfully made towards recovery. They help patients better understand and overcome their addictions. Counselors help through offering support, rehabilitation, and guidance by using various techniques. Drug & alcohol counselors seek to help an addict find the source of their addiction.
Family workers and alcohol and drug counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Family Worker | Alcohol And Drug Counselor | |
| Average salary | $36,992 | $45,758 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $48,000 | Between $30,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Montage Health |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a family worker and an alcohol and drug counselor in terms of educational background:
| Family Worker | Alcohol And Drug Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Hunter College of the City University of New York | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between family workers' and alcohol and drug counselors' demographics:
| Family Worker | Alcohol And Drug Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.1% Female, 84.9% | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 12% |