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Mental health counseling majors have a hard time finding a job right out of college. Graduates with a mental health counseling degree are entering a strange job market and it can be hard to find your first job in mental health counseling. To make finding a job easier, Zippia scanned through 18,218 mental health counseling major resumes to identify the jobs mental health counseling majors most prefer.

Highest-paying jobs with a mental health counseling degree

  1. Starting salary
    $41,000
    Job openings
    66,130
    Job description:
    Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.
  2. Starting salary
    $39,000
    Job openings
    159,770
    Job description:
    Physical therapists, sometimes called PTs, help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. These therapists are often an important part of the rehabilitation, treatment, and prevention of patients with chronic conditions, illnesses, or injuries.
  3. Starting salary
    $36,000
    Job openings
    91,347
    Top locations:
    New York, NY;  Oakland, CA;  Roanoke, VA;  
    Job description:
    Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.
  4. Starting salary
    $32,000
    Job openings
    79,459
    Top locations:
    Baltimore, MD;  New York, NY;  Denver, CO;  
    Job description:
    Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors advise people who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, or other behavioral problems. They provide treatment and support to help the client recover from addiction or modify problem behaviors.
  5. Starting salary
    $31,000
    Job openings
    132,694
    Job description:
    Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists help people manage and overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with family and other relationships. They listen to clients and ask questions to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives.
  6. Starting salary
    $31,000
    Job openings
    131,449
    Top locations:
    Ruston, LA;  Chicago, IL;  Baton Rouge, LA;  
    Job description:
    Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.
  7. Starting salary
    $30,000
    Job openings
    77,461
    Top locations:
    Philadelphia, PA;  Minneapolis, MN;  Los Angeles, CA;  
    Job description:
    Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors advise people who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, or other behavioral problems. They provide treatment and support to help the client recover from addiction or modify problem behaviors.
  8. Starting salary
    $25,000
    Job openings
    103,710
    Top locations:
    Tulsa, OK;  Dothan, AL;  Las Vegas, NV;  
    Job description:
    Psychiatric technicians and aides care for people who have mental illness and developmental disabilities. Technicians typically provide therapeutic care and monitor their patients’ conditions. Aides help patients in their daily activities and ensure a safe, clean environment.
  9. Starting salary
    $23,000
    Job openings
    113,667
    Top locations:
    New York, NY;  Chicago, IL;  Washington, DC;  
    Job description:
    Health educators teach people about behaviors that promote wellness. They develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities. Community health workers collect data and discuss health concerns with members of specific populations or communities.
  10. Starting salary
    $19,000
    Job openings
    77,536
    Job description:
    A Counselor helps people to explore feelings and emotions that are often related to past and present experiences. They work with individuals, groups, and communities to improve their mental health.

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What can you do with a mental health counseling degree?

Zippia created a mental health counseling career map to help recent graduates find career paths. It's based on real resumes from job seekers with bachelor's degrees in mental health counseling. The map shows the most common jobs mental health counseling majors take throughout the first four jobs of their careers.

Mental Health Counseling major jobs

Average mental health counseling major salary

Mental health counseling major salaries vary significantly by industry. Graduates with a mental health counseling bachelor's degree who work in the insurance industry have an average salary of $50,614, while those graduates who work in the non profits industry have an average salary of $40,294. If pay is important to you, then you should look for mental health counseling jobs in the insurance industry.

Average mental health counseling major salary by industry

RankIndustryAverage mental health counseling salary Mental health counseling salary range
1Insurance
$50,614
$35k
$59k
2Health Care
$48,079
$35k
$59k
3Finance
$47,088
$35k
$59k
4Government
$47,052
$35k
$59k
5Education
$43,867
$35k
$59k

Entry-level mental health counseling major jobs

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Mental Health Counseling internships

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