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Unit counselor vs group leader

The differences between unit counselors and group leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a unit counselor and a group leader. Additionally, a group leader has an average salary of $100,480, which is higher than the $36,585 average annual salary of a unit counselor.

The top three skills for a unit counselor include incident reports, mental health and substance abuse. The most important skills for a group leader are customer service, OSHA, and center management.

Unit counselor vs group leader overview

Unit CounselorGroup Leader
Yearly salary$36,585$100,480
Hourly rate$17.59$48.31
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs45,69356,173
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age4142
Years of experience44

Unit counselor vs group leader salary

Unit counselors and group leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

Unit CounselorGroup Leader
Average salary$36,585$100,480
Salary rangeBetween $18,000 And $71,000Between $57,000 And $174,000
Highest paying City-Madison, MS
Highest paying state-Mississippi
Best paying company-Federal Reserve Bank
Best paying industry--

Differences between unit counselor and group leader education

There are a few differences between a unit counselor and a group leader in terms of educational background:

Unit CounselorGroup Leader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common majorPsychologyBusiness
Most common collegeDuke UniversityStanford University

Unit counselor vs group leader demographics

Here are the differences between unit counselors' and group leaders' demographics:

Unit CounselorGroup Leader
Average age4142
Gender ratioMale, 31.9% Female, 68.1%Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 5.2% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage15%8%

Differences between unit counselor and group leader duties and responsibilities

Unit counselor example responsibilities.

  • Lead a successful group of kids by ensuring safety and behavioral expectations are met and providing structure and organize educational activities.
  • Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
  • Maintain therapeutic relationships with youth through effective teaching and coaching techniques to provide leadership and foster relationship building skills.

Group leader example responsibilities.

  • Oversee all OEM site leads to improve work flow, methods and procedures.
  • Coach to ensure KPI's and SLA's, productivity and quality objectives are consistently achieve.
  • Coordinate and manage passenger movement of DOD civilians, contractors, and military personnel within the Southwest-Asia area of operation.
  • Lead and manage a DEA enforcement task force group involve in daily enforcement and intelligence collection/dissemination activities.
  • Manage and provide performance and career counseling regarding leadership, academics and physical training to strength personnel in their professional development.
  • Complete two six sigma projects with total savings of $130K/year.
  • Show more

Unit counselor vs group leader skills

Common unit counselor skills
  • Incident Reports, 19%
  • Mental Health, 12%
  • Substance Abuse, 12%
  • Conduct Orientation, 11%
  • CPI, 6%
  • Crisis Situations, 4%
Common group leader skills
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • OSHA, 6%
  • Center Management, 6%
  • Safety Procedures, 6%
  • Basic Math, 5%
  • CPR, 5%

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