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The differences between youth leaders and youth mentors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a youth leader, becoming a youth mentor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a youth mentor has an average salary of $32,750, which is higher than the $29,481 average annual salary of a youth leader.
The top three skills for a youth leader include CPR, fine arts and academic enrichment. The most important skills for a youth mentor are mental health, substance abuse, and eating disorders.
| Youth Leader | Youth Mentor | |
| Yearly salary | $29,481 | $32,750 |
| Hourly rate | $14.17 | $15.75 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 31,851 | 68,561 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
A youth leader is a young individual who is responsible for building a sense of community within the church youth that can provide an opportunity for both spiritual and social development. Youth Leaders organize regular social, educational, and spiritual oriented events with parents and volunteers to maintain a vibrant program. They establish support and appropriate relationships with their youth members and their families. Youth leaders also maintain social media and emails to provide information publicly to youth members about their organized events.
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 leaders and youth mentors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Youth Leader | Youth Mentor | |
| Average salary | $29,481 | $32,750 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $26,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Maine |
| Best paying company | First Book | LifeWorks |
| Best paying industry | Education | Professional |
There are a few differences between a youth leader and a youth mentor in terms of educational background:
| Youth Leader | Youth Mentor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between youth leaders' and youth mentors' demographics:
| Youth Leader | Youth Mentor | |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 45.3% Female, 54.7% | Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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 | 14% | 11% |