Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between life skills instructors 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 life skills instructor, 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 $30,844 average annual salary of a life skills instructor.
The top three skills for a life skills instructor include developmental disabilities, CPR and kids. The most important skills for a residential counselor are direct care, medication administration, and mental health.
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $30,844 | $34,117 |
| Hourly rate | $14.83 | $16.40 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 64,039 | 81,287 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 37 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
A life skills instructor advises people that are seeking support and coaching. They are responsible for helping them learn and develop skills like doing day-to-day tasks, interacting with other people, caring for themselves, as well as doing basic duties. Also, they can offer to coach for playing sports, learning new things, doing different exercises, and tips for employment.
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.
Life skills instructors and residential counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Counselor | |
| Average salary | $30,844 | $34,117 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $44,000 | Between $27,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Norwich, CT | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Washington |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | The Evergreens |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Education |
There are a few differences between a life skills instructor and a residential counselor in terms of educational background:
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between life skills instructors' and residential counselors' demographics:
| Life Skills Instructor | Residential Counselor | |
| Average age | 37 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% | Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 13% | 15% |