Phone counselor vs service counselor

The differences between phone counselors and service counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a phone counselor, becoming a service counselor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a phone counselor has an average salary of $38,285, which is higher than the $35,402 average annual salary of a service counselor.

The top three skills for a phone counselor include social work, crisis calls and crisis planning. The most important skills for a service counselor are social work, crisis intervention, and patients.

Phone counselor vs service counselor overview

	Phone Counselor	Service Counselor
Yearly salary	$38,285	$35,402
Hourly rate	$18.41	$17.02
Growth rate	9%	12%
Number of jobs	75,943	44,284
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	41	43
Years of experience	4	12

Phone counselor vs service counselor salary

Phone counselors and service counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Phone Counselor	Service Counselor
Average salary	$38,285	$35,402
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $47,000	Between $24,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between phone counselor and service counselor education

There are a few differences between a phone counselor and a service counselor in terms of educational background:

	Phone Counselor	Service Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	SUNY at Binghamton

Phone counselor vs service counselor demographics

Here are the differences between phone counselors' and service counselors' demographics:

	Phone Counselor	Service Counselor
Average age	41	43
Gender ratio	Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6%	Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7%
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, 12.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	11%

Differences between phone counselor and service counselor duties and responsibilities

Phone counselor example responsibilities.

Manage a caseload of individuals in programs design to provide vocational rehabilitation and other services to the developmentally disable.
Provide individual assessments, treatment planning and psychotherapy services to culturally diverse adult female population in need of rehabilitation services.
Listen to clients' concerns about HIV/AIDS relate treatment.
Facilitate groups of children with ADHD and also a self-esteem group for adults.
Provide counseling for individuals, children and adults for depression, anxiety, ADHD, personality disorders and other behavioral disorders.
Specialize in individual, relationship, marital, custody, anxiety, depression, trauma resolution, and PTSD.

Service counselor example responsibilities.

Develop contracting strategy to build capacity and achieve ongoing compliance with Medicare and Medicaid provider network adequacy requirements.
Implement patient financial services department to assist patients and family members to ensure successful patient representation and expeditious benefit recovery.
Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.

Phone counselor vs service counselor skills

Common phone counselor skills

Social Work, 27%
Crisis Calls, 23%
Crisis Planning, 10%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Suicide Prevention, 8%
Mental Illness, 5%

Common service counselor skills

Social Work, 16%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Patients, 7%
Support Services, 6%
Social Services, 6%
Rehabilitation, 6%