How To Become A Rehabilitation Services Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a rehabilitation services counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a rehabilitation services counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.41 an hour? That's $46,612 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 9,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a rehabilitation services counselor?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreRehabilitation Services CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $46,612

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.66%

Asian 2.90%

Black or African American 13.69%

Hispanic or Latino 10.79%

Unknown 4.56%

White 66.39%

Gender

female 72.62%

male 27.38%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a rehabilitation services counselor

Explore rehabilitation services counselor education requirements

Most common rehabilitation services counselor degrees

Bachelor's

64.5 %

Master's

26.9 %

Associate

3.2 %

Start to develop specific rehabilitation services counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	27.44%
Rehabilitation	19.21%
Crisis Intervention	15.63%
Mental Illness	12.96%
Substance Abuse	7.38%

Complete relevant rehabilitation services counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New rehabilitation services counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a rehabilitation services counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real rehabilitation services counselor resumes.

Research rehabilitation services counselor duties and responsibilities

Collaborate with institutions of higher learning and local organizations to help assign veterans achieve independent living and academic success.
Provide rehabilitation assistance to transition clients from hospital to community living.
Act as wellness unit coordinator & hold weekly food education workshop classes to promote psychiatric rehabilitation and nutrition awareness.
Develop vocational and educational goals with participants with physical and mental disabilities both general and veterans pursuing employment and/or self sufficient.

Prepare your rehabilitation services counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your rehabilitation services counselor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a rehabilitation services counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable rehabilitation services counselor resume templates

Build a professional rehabilitation services counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your rehabilitation services counselor resume.

Apply for rehabilitation services counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a rehabilitation services counselor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do rehabilitation services counselors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rehabilitation services counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Cons

The over documentation required by DHS that robs the quality time needed in intervention and treatment. This lopsided demand makes the term “best practices” mere bureaucratic lip service without the means to actually deliver quality hands on services.

Pros

Change agent when people are stuck and need support in the process of restoration. One on one and group processing is powerful.