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The differences between social work interns and community health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a social work internship, becoming a community health counselor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a community health counselor has an average salary of $43,304, which is higher than the $37,178 average annual salary of a social work internship.
The top three skills for a social work internship include patients, social work and intake assessments. The most important skills for a community health counselor are social work, behavioral health, and patients.
| Social Work Internship | Community Health Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $37,178 | $43,304 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $20.82 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 142,426 | 131,804 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Social work interns are students who chose to do their on-the-job training in the field of social work. They apply for an internship at social services facilities. They are usually assigned to do administrative or clerical activities such as sorting through files, updating records, organizing documents, and filing reports. Aside from clerical tasks, they also get exposed to program or project management by working on program-specific initiatives. They get exposed to planning, resource managing, implementing, and evaluating. They may also join their supervisors during field activities.
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.
Social work interns and community health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Work Internship | Community Health Counselor | |
| Average salary | $37,178 | $43,304 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $51,000 | Between $29,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fargo, ND | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | DTCC | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a social work internship and a community health counselor in terms of educational background:
| Social Work Internship | Community Health Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Fullerton | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between social work interns' and community health counselors' demographics:
| Social Work Internship | Community Health Counselor | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7% | Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% | 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% |