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The differences between program instructors 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 program instructor and a program counselor. Additionally, a program counselor has an average salary of $43,820, which is higher than the $42,380 average annual salary of a program instructor.
The top three skills for a program instructor include patients, K-12 and math. The most important skills for a program counselor are developmental disabilities, patients, and community integration.
| Program Instructor | Program Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $42,380 | $43,820 |
| Hourly rate | $20.38 | $21.07 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 92,369 | 133,491 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 46 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A program instructor is responsible for facilitating indoor and outdoor programs with various goals and objectives catering to different participants. Program instructors must have excellent communication skills, especially on gaining the participants' attention and engaging them to join the activities prepared for the day. They also maintain a safe and creative learning environment for everyone, observing each participant's behavior and interests, developing group cooperation, and fostering personal development. A program instructor reiterates safety procedures and regulations during the program for everyone's strict compliance and immediately addresses conflicts soon as they arise.
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.
Program instructors and program counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Instructor | Program Counselor | |
| Average salary | $42,380 | $43,820 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $60,000 | Between $33,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Russell Sage College |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a program instructor and a program counselor in terms of educational background:
| Program Instructor | Program Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between program instructors' and program counselors' demographics:
| Program Instructor | Program Counselor | |
| Average age | 46 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3% | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 16% | 15% |