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The differences between intervention specialists and youth counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an intervention specialist and a youth counselor. Additionally, an intervention specialist has an average salary of $50,180, which is higher than the $36,754 average annual salary of a youth counselor.
The top three skills for an intervention specialist include mental health, social work and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a youth counselor are direct care, mental health, and crisis intervention.
| Intervention Specialist | Youth Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $50,180 | $36,754 |
| Hourly rate | $24.12 | $17.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 69,156 | 78,461 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An intervention specialist is responsible for assisting children with special education and social adjustment needs in schools and other educational settings. You will be responsible for designing, executing, and assessing programs based on different factors, including gender, cultural background, and age. Other tasks that you will likely perform include working closely with teachers to discuss the subject matter with students, ensuring children and occupied and safe, and maintaining records of children's performance and lesson plans. An intervention specialist is also responsible for adhering to individualized education programs.
A Youth Counselor's role is to provide guidance and interact with children or teenagers in need of care and counseling. The duty of a Youth Counselor is diverse, and it highly depends on the organization or employer. However, the responsibilities mostly revolve around establishing rapport with the youngster while trying to work on their issues, ensuring their welfare by monitoring their emotional and physical state, coordinating with families or other facilities, suggesting treatments, and performing crisis intervention if necessary.
Intervention specialists and youth counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Intervention Specialist | Youth Counselor | |
| Average salary | $50,180 | $36,754 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $70,000 | Between $27,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alameda, CA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Birch | New York State Restaurant Association |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between an intervention specialist and a youth counselor in terms of educational background:
| Intervention Specialist | Youth Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between intervention specialists' and youth counselors' demographics:
| Intervention Specialist | Youth Counselor | |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.4% Female, 69.6% | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 15% | 15% |