How To Become A Vocational Case Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a vocational case manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Individuals turn to vocational case managers when they need help accessing health and social care services that are available to them. So, as a vocational case manager, your main duty is to connect members of the community with services, programs, and benefits for which they qualify to increase their quality of life.

With this role, you can also expect to perform duties like conducting interviews with clients, coordinating with service providers, participating in outreach programs, hiring and training volunteers, and creating recovery programs alongside social workers and other service providers. You may also have to coordinate with the authorities in cases of domestic abuse or drug activity.

The noble role of a vocational case manager typically requires a four-year degree, but it is possible to qualify as long as you have related work experience. Moreover, you may need to have a background in mental health counseling, substance abuse recovery, senior care, or other specializations, depending on your line of work.

ScoreVocational Case ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,034

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.94%

Asian 5.79%

Black or African American 11.49%

Hispanic or Latino 16.77%

Unknown 4.99%

White 59.03%

Gender

female 68.80%

male 31.20%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a vocational case manager

Explore vocational case manager education requirements

Most common vocational case manager degrees

Bachelor's

64.3 %

Master's

24.5 %

Associate

9.1 %

Start to develop specific vocational case manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Rehabilitation	32.49%
Transferable	12.04%
Insurance Carriers	8.60%
Vocational Training	7.95%
Vocational Rehabilitation	5.33%

Complete relevant vocational case manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New vocational case managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a vocational case manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real vocational case manager resumes.

Research vocational case manager duties and responsibilities

Provide clients support with basic ADL's (shopping, payee services, budgets, managing and attending appointments).
Provide vocational rehabilitation supervision to adolescents and adults
Provide full spectrum of educational/vocational rehabilitation services.
Provide full spectrum of educational/vocational rehabilitation services.

Prepare your vocational case manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your vocational case manager 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 vocational case manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable vocational case manager resume templates

Build a professional vocational case manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your vocational case manager resume.