What is a Lead Counselor?

A lead counselor develops, directs, and oversees programs and policies that promote and improve the members of an organization's mental health. They may work in educational institutions, companies, and government agencies.

The lead counselor must educate and guide staff and clients regarding mild to moderate mental health conditions and coping mechanisms. They focus on enhancing rehabilitative services to help individuals overcome trauma or stress related to their jobs or personal lives. They design and modify treatment plans for these persons based on their needs and the nature of their difficulties.

To ensure the efficiency of the treatment programs, they monitor and assess their progress. In some cases, they communicate and consult with health care providers and medical organizations.

Excellent organizational and communication skills are the key qualities of a lead counselor. Candidates must have a bachelor's degree in psychology, social work, or counseling. Certifications and considerable work experience are also essential factors to qualify for this position. The median salary of a lead counselor is $25.19 an hour, which amounts to a yearly income of $52,392.

What Does a Lead Counselor Do

There are certain skills that many lead counselors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, compassion and listening skills.

Learn more about what a Lead Counselor does

How To Become a Lead Counselor

If you're interested in becoming a lead counselor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 59.5% of lead counselors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 15.3% of lead counselors have master's degrees. Even though most lead counselors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Lead Counselor

Top Lead Counselor Jobs Near You

Lead Counselor Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of case manager you might progress to a role such as senior case manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior case manager.

Lead Counselor

Case Manager

Senior Case Manager

5 Years

Case Manager Clinical Supervisor

Clinical Director

9 Years

Case Manager Program Manager Senior Project Manager

Project Director

8 Years

Program Director Director

Average Salary for a Lead Counselor

Lead Counselors in America make an average salary of $178,478 per year or $86 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $315,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $100,000 per year.

Average Lead Counselor Salary

$178,478 Yearly

$85.81 hourly

$100,00010%

$178,000Median

$315,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Lead Counselor

The role of a lead counselor includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general lead counselor responsibilities:

Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time. The employee in this position must be able to read, write,
Develops purposeful, age appropriate activities for consumers, using staff input
Position will assist yois institutional coordinator with overseeing all yois rehabilitation services by providing support

There are several types of lead counselor, including:

Guidance Counselor

Role:

Contrary to what your high school experiences may have you believe, guidance counselors aren't there for when you get in trouble. Their job is to offer helpful advice to students who are having a tough time. Counselors are also responsible for helping parents help their kids.

They help kids navigate the confusing phase of adolescence and the impending changes from finishing school. These professionals aren't just there for emotional and mental support, however. Guidance counselors also help students with academic, career, social, and even personal issues.

Guidance counseling is a challenging and rewarding career path, and it begins with a major in any field related to human services and psychology. A background in statistics may also help interpret standardized test results and guide students on a suitable career path. Most states also require a master's degree in counseling and sufficient work experience.

Average Salary: $48,154
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Licensed Professional Counselor

Role:

Licensed professional counselors are qualified to offer counseling and psychotherapy to people who are having problems with their mental health. Licensed Professional Counselors may work for themselves, but the majority of them work in public or private facilities. In this title, you will cater to Individuals, families, couples, teenagers, and children.

Your responsibilities include meeting with new clients to assess their challenges and resources, resolving issues through talk therapy and modeling adaptive, sustainable habits, developing and adapting custom treatment regimens as required, and encouraging positive self-reflection and helpful coping skills. The ideal LPC must have a master's degree in a Counseling-related discipline, plus some experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor. This means you must be licensed and registered to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor.

As an LPC, you should possess empathy, compassion, and a desire to promote healing. Although the average pay for a licensed professional counselor is $98,502 per year or $47.36 per hour, there are several ways for licensed professional counselors to earn more.

Average Salary: $94,675
Degree: Master's Degree

States With The Most Lead Counselor Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active lead counselor jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where lead counselors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Lead Counselor Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	1,155	$164,610
2	Massachusetts	1,108	$154,934
3	New York	793	$155,502
4	Florida	738	$136,196
5	Pennsylvania	659	$135,963
6	Texas	581	$148,877
7	Illinois	473	$139,381
8	Georgia	377	$132,190
9	Oklahoma	377	$107,738
10	Nevada	373	$138,311
11	Kansas	373	$111,139
12	New Jersey	361	$168,474
13	Washington	348	$111,356
14	Arkansas	333	$125,148
15	Arizona	306	$143,535
16	Virginia	289	$147,729
17	Idaho	279	$110,527
18	New Mexico	272	$140,520
19	Nebraska	269	$124,954
20	Maryland	264	$151,110
21	Ohio	244	$136,078
22	North Carolina	243	$141,472
23	Colorado	232	$122,216
24	Michigan	231	$132,270
25	Minnesota	225	$134,264
26	Connecticut	220	$158,301
27	Montana	219	$84,544
28	Tennessee	190	$136,056
29	Indiana	176	$110,380
30	South Carolina	171	$129,862
31	Oregon	153	$113,399
32	Wisconsin	146	$141,509
33	Louisiana	141	$133,283
34	Alaska	139	$102,318
35	South Dakota	132	$110,172
36	Missouri	127	$123,889
37	Iowa	125	$125,063
38	Alabama	102	$137,806
39	Kentucky	95	$118,510
40	Utah	69	$108,811
41	Delaware	58	$156,213
42	New Hampshire	57	$145,567
43	Maine	47	$151,238
44	Mississippi	39	$141,401
45	North Dakota	36	$132,798
46	Rhode Island	36	$137,241
47	Hawaii	36	$128,010
48	West Virginia	34	$161,457
49	Wyoming	31	$100,710
50	Vermont	25	$161,416

Lead Counselor Education

Lead Counselor Majors

Psychology

21.9 %

Business

8.0 %

Social Work

7.8 %

Lead Counselor Degrees

Admissions

Most Popular Majors

Business

Education

Psychology

Criminal Justice

Elementary Education

Top Skills For a Lead Counselor

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 15.9% of lead counselors listed legal advice on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and compassion are important as well.

Legal Advice, 15.9%

Litigation, 14.4%

Work Ethic, 7.6%

Substance Abuse, 7.6%

Crisis Intervention, 7.3%

Other Skills, 47.2%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Lead Counselor Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Lead Counselor templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Lead Counselor resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Lead Counselor Demographics

Lead Counselor Gender Distribution

Female

58%

Male

42%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among lead counselors, 58.4% of them are women, while 41.6% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among lead counselors is White, which makes up 67.0% of all lead counselors.

The most common foreign language among lead counselors is Spanish at 51.3%.

Online Courses For Lead Counselor That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure

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Job type you want

Full Time

Part Time

Internship

Temporary

Best States For a Lead Counselor

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a lead counselor. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, California, West Virginia, and Vermont. Lead counselors make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $168,474. Whereas in California and West Virginia, they would average $164,610 and $161,457, respectively. While lead counselors would only make an average of $161,416 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New Jersey

Total Lead Counselor Jobs: 361

Highest 10% Earn:

$256,000

Location Quotient:

0.96

$168,474

Avg. Salary

View 361 Lead Counselor Jobs In NJ

2. Connecticut

Total Lead Counselor Jobs: 220

Highest 10% Earn:

$246,000

Location Quotient:

1.39

$158,301

Avg. Salary

View 220 Lead Counselor Jobs In CT

3. Massachusetts

Total Lead Counselor Jobs: 1,108

Highest 10% Earn:

$244,000

Location Quotient:

2.53

$154,934

Avg. Salary

View 1,108 Lead Counselor Jobs In MA

Full List Of Best States For Lead Counselors

How Do Lead Counselor Rate Their Jobs?

Top Lead Counselor Employers

Most Common Employers For Lead Counselor

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Meta	$205,390	$98.75	79
2	Community Education Centers	$192,829	$92.71	7
3	Dominion Energy	$163,117	$78.42	32
4	Pyramid Healthcare	$141,031	$67.80	11
5	American Express	$135,731	$65.26	25
6	Scotts	$124,323	$59.77	12
7	Maximus	$123,992	$59.61	10
8	Dominion Youth Serv	$122,354	$58.82	19
9	Elwyn	$87,736	$42.18	10
10	Sundown Ranch	$84,814	$40.78	7

Lead Counselor Videos

Job Roles For COUNSELOR Counseling,School,Apprenticeship,Private organization,Psychology

Updated February 6, 2023

What is a Lead Counselor?

What Does a Lead Counselor Do

How To Become a Lead Counselor

Lead Counselor Career Paths

Top Careers Before Lead Counselor

Top Careers After Lead Counselor

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for a Lead Counselor

Roles and Types of Lead Counselor

Guidance Counselor

Licensed Professional Counselor

States With The Most Lead Counselor Jobs

Number Of Lead Counselor Jobs By State

Lead Counselor Education

Lead Counselor Majors

Lead Counselor Degrees

Top Colleges for Lead Counselors

1. University of Pennsylvania

2. Northwestern University

3. Johns Hopkins University

4. New York University

5. Harvard University

6. SUNY at Albany

7. University of Southern California

8. California State University - Long Beach

9. San Diego State University

10. SUNY College at Oswego

Top Skills For a Lead Counselor

Choose From 10+ Customizable Lead Counselor Resume templates

Lead Counselor Demographics

Lead Counselor Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Lead Counselor That You May Like

Best States For a Lead Counselor

How Do Lead Counselor Rate Their Jobs?

Top Lead Counselor Employers

Most Common Employers For Lead Counselor

Lead Counselor Videos

Lead Counselor Related Careers

Lead Counselor Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs