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

What is a resource counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a resource counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.42 an hour? That's $40,392 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 32,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a resource counselor?

Juleen Buser Ph.D.

Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University

Counseling Services (school counseling concentration) and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (we have a CMHC concentration and a Dance Movement Therapy concentration in this program). The general advice I would give to graduates starting positions in the counseling field would be to understand the critical importance of the work of helping professionals. Counselors optimally provide a safe space for clients to discuss their fears, worries, anxieties, joys, traumas, insecurities, accomplishments, etc. This ability to be an empathic, listening, accepting presence will be even more crucial for clients in our current situation.

ScoreResource CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,392

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 72.36%

male 27.64%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a resource counselor

Explore resource counselor education requirements

Most common resource counselor degrees

Bachelor's

58.6 %

Master's

17.2 %

Associate

12.2 %

Start to develop specific resource counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Mental Health	16.39%
Developmental Disabilities	8.74%
Medicaid	7.50%
Crisis Intervention	7.09%
Social Security	7.09%

Complete relevant resource counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New resource 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 resource counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real resource counselor resumes.

Research resource counselor duties and responsibilities

Manage RSP curriculum for wide spectrum of needs including LD and autism.
Assist residents with rehabilitation process, provides emotional and behavioral support, along with providing a safe living environment.
Organize and lead regular youth and college bible studies, teaching about prayer and promoting spirituality.

Prepare your resource counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your resource 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 resource 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 resource counselor resume templates

Build a professional resource 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 resource counselor resume.

Apply for resource counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a resource 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 resource counselors rate their job?

-/5

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Resource 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.