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What is a sexual assault counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted Expert
Debra Minsky-Kelly
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a sexual assault counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.94 an hour? That's $53,962 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 52,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Sexual Assault Counselor?

Debra Minsky-KellyDebra Minsky-Kelly LinkedIn Profile

Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College

I think there are two critical skills for social workers, whether they are first entering the workforce or seasoned professionals. These skills are humility and an appreciation for ambiguity in our work. A humble approach to our work empowers clients to become experts on their circumstances. Social workers are then positioned in a collaborative role to help clients use existing skills and resources to improve their situations. An appreciation for ambiguity is closely related to the idea of humility. It helps us to remember that practice situations we face in this field are often far more complicated than they appear on the surface. Thus, all social workers need to make a strong commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing consultation with colleagues to ensure that multiple perspectives are included as we work to solve complex problems.
ScoreSexual Assault CounselorUS Average
Salary
4.2

Avg. Salary $53,962

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
8.4

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
7.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.24%

Asian 3.48%

Black or African American 15.60%

Hispanic or Latino 11.12%

Unknown 5.06%

White 63.50%

Gender

female 85.19%

male 14.81%

Age - 44
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 - 44
Stress Level
8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.2

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Sexual Assault Counselor career paths

Key steps to become a sexual assault counselor

  1. Explore sexual assault counselor education requirements

    Most common sexual assault counselor degrees

    Bachelor's

    61.3 %

    Master's

    19.3 %

    Associate

    15.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific sexual assault counselor skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Legal Advocacy12.15%
    Crisis Intervention11.71%
    Crisis Hotline9.53%
    Domestic Violence Victims6.40%
    Law Enforcement6.16%
  3. Research sexual assault counselor duties and responsibilities

    • Provide individual student planning to assist expulsion students in fulfilling their rehabilitation plan and re-entering the comprehensive school setting.
    • Conduct outreach efforts to promote services including PowerPoint presentations and speaking by panel.
  4. Prepare your sexual assault counselor resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sexual assault 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 sexual assault 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 Sexual Assault Counselor Resume templates

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  5. Apply for sexual assault counselor jobs

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

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

How Did You Land Your First Sexual Assault Counselor Job

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Average sexual assault counselor salary

The average Sexual Assault Counselor salary in the United States is $53,962 per year or $26 per hour. Sexual assault counselor salaries range between $46,000 and $62,000 per year.

Average Sexual Assault Counselor Salary
$53,962 Yearly
$25.94 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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How do sexual assault counselors rate their job?

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Sexual Assault Counselor reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Pros

Serving people, impacting change in communities, never boring


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

Working with people, making people happy and feel cared for

Cons

Hours and very little salary


Working as a Sexual Assault Counselor? Share your experience anonymously.
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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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