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The differences between human services assistants and residential counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a human services assistant, becoming a residential counselor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a residential counselor has an average salary of $34,117, which is higher than the $29,921 average annual salary of a human services assistant.
The top three skills for a human services assistant include developmental disabilities, patients and social work. The most important skills for a residential counselor are direct care, medication administration, and mental health.
| Human Services Assistant | Residential Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $29,921 | $34,117 |
| Hourly rate | $14.39 | $16.40 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 158,966 | 81,287 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Human service assistants function in a wide array of capacities. Basically, though, they provide services to clients in fields like rehabilitation, social work, or psychology. They provide support in the aforementioned fields for families and other workers. They are tasked with helping clients discover community services or benefits. Working with other professionals, they develop treatment plans, carry out research services to aid clients, and help clients with necessary paperwork.
A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences. A residential counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to ensure the development of residents in a living facility.
Human services assistants and residential counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Human Services Assistant | Residential Counselor | |
| Average salary | $29,921 | $34,117 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $46,000 | Between $27,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Denver, CO | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Minnesota | Washington |
| Best paying company | ICF | The Evergreens |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Education |
There are a few differences between a human services assistant and a residential counselor in terms of educational background:
| Human Services Assistant | Residential Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between human services assistants' and residential counselors' demographics:
| Human Services Assistant | Residential Counselor | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.2% Female, 75.8% | Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 16.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.9% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 15% |