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The differences between youth advocates and youth counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a youth advocate and a youth counselor. Additionally, a youth counselor has an average salary of $36,754, which is higher than the $33,924 average annual salary of a youth advocate.
The top three skills for a youth advocate include mental health, social work and foster care. The most important skills for a youth counselor are direct care, mental health, and crisis intervention.
| Youth Advocate | Youth Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $33,924 | $36,754 |
| Hourly rate | $16.31 | $17.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 78,437 | 78,461 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Youth advocates are individuals who responsible for maintaining the human rights of youth while assisting them in developing their skills in all areas of life, such as education, health, employment, and relationships. These advocates are required to discuss youth development and involvement with various leaders in the community. They must provide crisis interventions by performing one-on-one and group meetings with young adults. Youth advocates must also work with mental health professionals within the community so that they can guide teenagers with drug or alcohol problems and mental health issues.
A Youth Counselor's role is to provide guidance and interact with children or teenagers in need of care and counseling. The duty of a Youth Counselor is diverse, and it highly depends on the organization or employer. However, the responsibilities mostly revolve around establishing rapport with the youngster while trying to work on their issues, ensuring their welfare by monitoring their emotional and physical state, coordinating with families or other facilities, suggesting treatments, and performing crisis intervention if necessary.
Youth advocates and youth counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Advocate | Youth Counselor | |
| Average salary | $33,924 | $36,754 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $41,000 | Between $27,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Syracuse, NY | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | First Place for Youth | New York State Restaurant Association |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Professional |
There are a few differences between a youth advocate and a youth counselor in terms of educational background:
| Youth Advocate | Youth Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between youth advocates' and youth counselors' demographics:
| Youth Advocate | Youth Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4% | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | 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 | 10% | 15% |