School guidance counselor vs social worker

The differences between school guidance counselors and social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a social worker has an average salary of $50,102, which is higher than the $49,562 average annual salary of a school guidance counselor.

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

School guidance counselor vs social worker overview

	School Guidance Counselor	Social Worker
Yearly salary	$49,562	$50,102
Hourly rate	$23.83	$24.09
Growth rate	10%	9%
Number of jobs	82,545	77,340
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	42	45
Years of experience	-	2

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 social worker do?

Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria. They then determine the best ways to help their clients by interviewing them, getting to know them, and understanding the context of their lives. They create plans that will help their clients become better, such as integrating into a new environment, assisting them in their needs, or even rescuing them from their current place. Social workers have good interpersonal skills and communication skills.

School guidance counselor vs social worker salary

School guidance counselors and social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	School Guidance Counselor	Social Worker
Average salary	$49,562	$50,102
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $67,000	Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	California	Oregon
Best paying company	Tolleson Union High School District	Health Advocates
Best paying industry	Education	Government

Differences between school guidance counselor and social worker education

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

	School Guidance Counselor	Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	School Counseling	Social Work
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

School guidance counselor vs social worker demographics

Here are the differences between school guidance counselors' and social workers' demographics:

	School Guidance Counselor	Social Worker
Average age	42	45
Gender ratio	Male, 24.7% Female, 75.3%	Male, 19.5% Female, 80.5%
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, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	11%	13%

Differences between school guidance counselor and social worker 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.

Social worker example responsibilities.

Assist clients in achieving treatment goals such as anger, ADHD, grief, social skills, and manners.
Lead and co-le CBT and DBT skills-base groups with participants, as well as relapse prevention, mindfulness and process groups.
Support patient questions and issues regarding Medicare ESRD entitlement and Medicaid and assist in the completion of the appropriate documentation.
Coordinate IPU discharge planning patients to SNF, ALF, PCH or in-home care with necessary support for care.
Facilitate relationships with AKF and other patient assistance programs, VA, Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance providers.
Complete Medicaid and Medicare applications as needed.

School guidance counselor vs social worker 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 social worker skills

Social Work, 30%
Patients, 15%
Patient Care, 5%
MSW, 4%
Discharge Planning, 4%
Home Health, 4%

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School Guidance Counselor
School Guidance Counselor vs Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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