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The differences between youth development professionals 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 development professional and a youth counselor. Additionally, a youth development professional has an average salary of $43,758, which is higher than the $36,754 average annual salary of a youth counselor.
The top three skills for a youth development professional include youth development, direct care and productive relationships. The most important skills for a youth counselor are direct care, mental health, and crisis intervention.
| Youth Development Professional | Youth Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $43,758 | $36,754 |
| Hourly rate | $21.04 | $17.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 91,372 | 78,461 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Youth Development Professionals are specialists in implementing and overseeing programs to help adolescents discover their abilities and interests. They are responsible for coordinating career days and field trips, organizing mentorship sessions, create youth outreach projects, and assisting community organizations in youth provision development. Other duties include supporting the training of volunteer youth workers as well as ensuring service provided adheres to professional standards and current regulations. A Youth Development Professional may specialize in a specific development sector, such as healthy living, experiential learning, or public service.
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 development professionals and youth counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Development Professional | Youth Counselor | |
| Average salary | $43,758 | $36,754 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $95,000 | Between $27,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | MUFG EMEA | New York State Restaurant Association |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a youth development professional and a youth counselor in terms of educational background:
| Youth Development Professional | Youth Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | 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 development professionals' and youth counselors' demographics:
| Youth Development Professional | Youth Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% | 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% |