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The differences between youth counselors and group 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 counselor and a group counselor. Additionally, a group counselor has an average salary of $40,155, which is higher than the $36,754 average annual salary of a youth counselor.
The top three skills for a youth counselor include direct care, mental health and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a group counselor are mental health, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Youth Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $36,754 | $40,155 |
| Hourly rate | $17.67 | $19.31 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 78,461 | 84,413 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A group counselor provides counseling services primarily in a group setting, aiming to provide clients with a supportive and healthy environment where they can work on different issues and reach personal goals. They typically conduct research and assessments, establish program objectives and guidelines, arrange various activities, and facilitate positive interactions to support one another. Additionally, a group counselor has the duty to implement policies and standards, create treatment plans, and optimize strategies to ensure clients receive optimal support and services.
Youth counselors and group counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Average salary | $36,754 | $40,155 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $14,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | New York State Restaurant Association | - |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between a youth counselor and a group counselor in terms of educational background:
| Youth Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between youth counselors' and group counselors' demographics:
| Youth Counselor | Group Counselor | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% | Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 15% | 15% |