Volunteer counselor vs activities director

The differences between volunteer counselors and activities directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an activities director has an average salary of $44,982, which is higher than the $32,156 average annual salary of a volunteer counselor.

The top three skills for a volunteer counselor include crisis intervention, mental health and substance abuse. The most important skills for an activities director are patients, rehabilitation, and resident care.

Volunteer counselor vs activities director overview

	Volunteer Counselor	Activities Director
Yearly salary	$32,156	$44,982
Hourly rate	$15.46	$21.63
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	76,594	6,845
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	4

Volunteer counselor vs activities director salary

Volunteer counselors and activities directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Volunteer Counselor	Activities Director
Average salary	$32,156	$44,982
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $41,000	Between $27,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Huntington, NY
Highest paying state	-	Mississippi
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between volunteer counselor and activities director education

There are a few differences between a volunteer counselor and an activities director in terms of educational background:

	Volunteer Counselor	Activities Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	Columbia University in the City of New York	University of Pennsylvania

Volunteer counselor vs activities director demographics

Here are the differences between volunteer counselors' and activities directors' demographics:

	Volunteer Counselor	Activities Director
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 34.8% Female, 65.2%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	8%

Differences between volunteer counselor and activities director duties and responsibilities

Volunteer counselor example responsibilities.

Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Counsele inmates and teach bible principles.
Inform the client about the parenting, bible study, and relationship classes.
Help to develop handouts, job lists and PowerPoint presentations on specific jobs and general job-seeking topics.
Help develop leadership skills while monitoring, encouraging and rewarding outstanding academic performance.
Practice leadership skills in a consensus-base, staff-run agency including but not limit to facilitating group discussions and writing agency policies.

Activities director example responsibilities.

Manage updated JCC social media, including Facebook.
Manage pet therapy/pat visitation protocol.
Attend interdisciplinary care plan meetings and document in MDS and resident medical records as appropriate.
Plan, organize, and run the afterschool
Create reports, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.
Assist teachers with reading and mathematics lessons and activities.

Volunteer counselor vs activities director skills

Common volunteer counselor skills

Crisis Intervention, 23%
Mental Health, 9%
Substance Abuse, 7%
Provide Emotional Support, 6%
Suicide Prevention, 6%
Emotional Support, 6%

Common activities director skills

Patients, 15%
Rehabilitation, 10%
Resident Care, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Home Health, 7%
MDS, 6%

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Volunteer Counselor
Volunteer Counselor vs Activities Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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