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

What is a vocational specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

A vocational specialist helps people to find career options that are suited for them. He/She does this by assessing the individual's skills and interests through interviews and aptitude tests. He/She then matches their most likely career options to available employment opportunities.

Some of your duties might include coaching clients and helping them to develop marketable skills, and assisting them in preparing their resumes. You will also be required to keep your clients' records and partner with potential employers in organizations or companies. Some of your clients might include people living with physical or mental disabilities. You would often find work with state governments, veteran programs, or private agencies.

An entry-level role will require a bachelor's degree in psychology or a related field. Great communication skills, integrity, critical thinking, and great interpersonal relationship skills are all important to function as a great vocational specialist. The average salary for a vocational specialist is $17.74 hourly, which amounts to about $36,901 annually.

What general advice would you give to a vocational specialist?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreVocational SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,486

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 68.27%

male 31.73%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a vocational specialist

Explore vocational specialist education requirements

Most common vocational specialist degrees

Bachelor's

61.7 %

Master's

21.8 %

Associate

9.0 %

Start to develop specific vocational specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Rehabilitation	14.27%
Social Work	11.11%
Crisis Intervention	6.77%
Substance Abuse	5.86%
Competitive Employment	5.49%

Complete relevant vocational specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New vocational specialists 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 specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real vocational specialist resumes.

Research vocational specialist duties and responsibilities

Conduct therapeutic and vocational rehabilitation groups for individuals who are diagnosed with a severe mental illness.
Facilitate vocational rehabilitation groups weekly.
Conduct initial interviews with individuals to determine if the situation warrant further investigation by EEO Specialists/investigators.
Document all activities including rationale for decisions in accordance with DARS policies and procedures.

Prepare your vocational specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your vocational specialist 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 specialist 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 specialist resume templates

Build a professional vocational specialist 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 specialist resume.

Apply for vocational specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a vocational specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

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

How do vocational specialists rate their job?

-/5

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Vocational specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2021

Pros

I like being practically helpful to people with disabilities to find a career direction, and to help the counselors working with those people to do their jobs better. I like the mental challenge of assessment and figuring out what is the true picture of the person, and what they really need to be able to overcome their obstacles. Assessment and Integration of data is my number one skill set. I like being a certified professional vocational evaluator (ICVE).

Cons

I don't like expectations such as that I have jobs in my back pocket, or that any old rehab counselor can do my job, or that I only need a couple of hours to do my job effectively. I don't like competing with folks who only give a few tests, without cross validating those results with work samples, situational assessments or community based assessment.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020