Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between health program specialists and mental health clinicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a health program specialist, becoming a mental health clinician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a mental health clinician has an average salary of $54,359, which is higher than the $48,114 average annual salary of a health program specialist.
The top three skills for a health program specialist include health education, data collection and patients. The most important skills for a mental health clinician are social work, patients, and mental health.
| Health Program Specialist | Mental Health Clinician | |
| Yearly salary | $48,114 | $54,359 |
| Hourly rate | $23.13 | $26.13 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 114,825 | 91,347 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Master's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A health program specialist is in charge of planning and developing health programs in communities or facilities. Their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify client needs, gathering and analyzing data, spearheading different activities that promote healthy lifestyles, assessing existing programs to determine areas needing improvement, and coordinating with health care experts. Furthermore, as a health program specialist, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while adhering to the vision and mission of the organization or community.
A Mental Health Clinician provides psychotherapeutic and rehabilitation services for patients with mental health problems. They manage the treatment of clients and help them to obtain stable physical health.
Health program specialists and mental health clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Program Specialist | Mental Health Clinician | |
| Average salary | $48,114 | $54,359 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $69,000 | Between $36,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | City and County of Denver Government |
| Best paying industry | Government | Education |
There are a few differences between a health program specialist and a mental health clinician in terms of educational background:
| Health Program Specialist | Mental Health Clinician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Master's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between health program specialists' and mental health clinicians' demographics:
| Health Program Specialist | Mental Health Clinician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 15% |