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The differences between licensed professional counselors and program counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a licensed professional counselor and a program counselor. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor has an average salary of $94,675, which is higher than the $43,820 average annual salary of a program counselor.
The top three skills for a licensed professional counselor include patients, social work and LPC. The most important skills for a program counselor are developmental disabilities, patients, and community integration.
| Licensed Professional Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $94,675 | $43,820 |
| Hourly rate | $45.52 | $21.07 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 153,612 | 133,491 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A licensed professional counselor is a healthcare professional who specializes in providing therapy and counseling to patients with emotional and mental health issues. They listen to their patients and utilize various techniques to address concerns and help through the healing procedures. Their duties entail conducting interviews and evaluations, performing research and assessments, studying the patients' medical histories, providing consultations, and developing treatment plans that suit every patients' needs. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor monitors and records their patients' progress, adjusting treatments and medications as necessary.
A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.
Licensed professional counselors and program counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Licensed Professional Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Average salary | $94,675 | $43,820 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $122,000 | Between $33,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Bloomberg | Russell Sage College |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a licensed professional counselor and a program counselor in terms of educational background:
| Licensed Professional Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between licensed professional counselors' and program counselors' demographics:
| Licensed Professional Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2% | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |