School guidance counselor vs community health counselor

The differences between school guidance counselors and community health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a school guidance counselor has an average salary of $49,562, which is higher than the $43,304 average annual salary of a community health counselor.

The top three skills for a school guidance counselor include crisis intervention, community agencies and professional development. The most important skills for a community health counselor are social work, behavioral health, and patients.

School guidance counselor vs community health counselor overview

	School Guidance Counselor	Community Health Counselor
Yearly salary	$49,562	$43,304
Hourly rate	$23.83	$20.82
Growth rate	10%	9%
Number of jobs	82,545	131,804
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	-	4

What does a school guidance counselor do?

School Guidance Counselors assess students' ability and potential, provide private counseling, and coordinate with fellow professionals on student matters. To help students in realizing their objectives, school guidance counselors evaluate their attributes. Also, they identify behavioral problems and appropriately to remedy the situation. Part of their duties is to cooperate with parents, external partners, and academic staff. To succeed, these guidance counselors must be authentic and accessible with good communication skills and a profound interest in helping students to achieve career and academic goals.

What does a community health counselor do?

A community health counselor typically provides health and welfare support to the disadvantaged members of a community. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to reach out to community members, coordinating with schools and other institutions, and building positive relationships with the communities that they serve. They may also provide counseling sessions to individuals of all ages, conduct observations and assessments, perform interventions, and identify any signs of abuse or neglect, reporting to the authorities right away. Furthermore, they may refer families or individuals to other social services unit if necessary.

School guidance counselor vs community health counselor salary

School guidance counselors and community health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	School Guidance Counselor	Community Health Counselor
Average salary	$49,562	$43,304
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $67,000	Between $29,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Tolleson Union High School District	Apple
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between school guidance counselor and community health counselor education

There are a few differences between a school guidance counselor and a community health counselor in terms of educational background:

	School Guidance Counselor	Community Health Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	School Counseling	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Long Beach

School guidance counselor vs community health counselor demographics

Here are the differences between school guidance counselors' and community health counselors' demographics:

	School Guidance Counselor	Community Health Counselor
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 24.7% Female, 75.3%	Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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	11%	15%

Differences between school guidance counselor and community health counselor duties and responsibilities

School guidance counselor example responsibilities.

Participate in IEP's staff meetings, parent meetings and individual student counseling.
Attend and participate in IEP meetings, truancy elimination meetings, children s clinic meetings, and parent meetings.
Remain non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.
Collaborate with peers in leadership capacity at recreational summer camp leading, coordinating and organizing daily activities and weekly field trips.

Community health counselor example responsibilities.

Provide group and individual therapy along with social service coordination for patients in short term stabilization psychiatric unit.
Train in medication administration, therapeutic holds and CPR.
Maintain cleanliness of home provide assistance with cleaning rooms and common areas.
Train in MNT, TCI, first aide and CPR with several other essential trainings.
Complete insurance verification information for Medicaid participants.
Maintain caseload paperwork in accordance with Georgia Medicaid requirements.

School guidance counselor vs community health counselor skills

Common school guidance counselor skills

Crisis Intervention, 7%
Community Agencies, 7%
Professional Development, 6%
Financial Aid, 5%
Career Planning, 4%
K-12, 4%

Common community health counselor skills

Social Work, 19%
Behavioral Health, 17%
Patients, 17%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Rehabilitation, 4%
Discharge Planning, 3%

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School Guidance Counselor
School Guidance Counselor vs Community Health Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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