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The differences between youth counselors and youth mentors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a youth counselor, becoming a youth mentor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a youth counselor has an average salary of $36,754, which is higher than the $32,750 average annual salary of a youth mentor.
The top three skills for a youth counselor include direct care, mental health and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a youth mentor are mental health, substance abuse, and eating disorders.
| Youth Counselor | Youth Mentor | |
| Yearly salary | $36,754 | $32,750 |
| Hourly rate | $17.67 | $15.75 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 78,461 | 68,561 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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 mentors are adult individuals who are responsible for creating programs to improve the well-being of young people by providing role models that can support them academically and socially. These mentors must educate the community on issues related to mental health while making regular home visits to youth and young adults. They should provide direct care and assistance to adolescents who are with substance abuse issues by creating an educational curriculum on the said topic. Youth mentors are also required to collaborate with mental health professionals and social workers to coordinate counseling efforts.
Youth counselors and youth mentors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Counselor | Youth Mentor | |
| Average salary | $36,754 | $32,750 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $26,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Maine |
| Best paying company | New York State Restaurant Association | LifeWorks |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between a youth counselor and a youth mentor in terms of educational background:
| Youth Counselor | Youth Mentor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between youth counselors' and youth mentors' demographics:
| Youth Counselor | Youth Mentor | |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% | Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0% |
| 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, 11.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 11% |