Counselor salary with a masters degree
A counselor’s salary with a master’s degree can be an attractive option for many people. The average counselor’s salary with a bachelor’s degree is $50,000 per year. This can rise to as much as $90,000 per year for those who have achieved a master’s degree.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs are expected to grow by 14% from 2014 through 2024. This is much faster than the average job growth rate of 7%. The following chart shows how much you can expect your paycheck to increase as you gain experience:
Counselor Salary With Masters
Average Salary After Earning a Masters in Counseling
Professional counselors work with clients to foster mental wellness, cope with emotional trauma, and make positive choices. Because they practice in a wide range of environments, counselors have a great deal of flexibility in choosing the focus of their studies. Many factors, including location, specialization, and years of experience, play a role in income, making it difficult to speak to salary based solely on the degree.
The best way of understanding the average salary associated with a particular degree is to compare occupations held by professionals who have earned this degree. The most common job titles for someone who earns a Masters in Counseling include:
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
- Career and School Counselors
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Counselors
1. Licensed Mental Health Counselor Salary
Licensed mental health counselors are graduate-level practitioners who have undergone supervised clinical training in the field. Once licensed, LMHCs work generally to help their clients improve their mental wellbeing and lives. They do this by leveraging a variety of treatment techniques and methodologies in a variety of settings.
Depending on the state which licensed them, LMHCs may have the authority to diagnose and treat mental illnesses and behavioral disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress, personality disorders, and substance use disorders. LMHCs also have the option to branch out to other specialties, such as marriage and family therapy, or start a private practice.
The average annual salary for a licensed mental health counselor is $70,755, according to ZipRecruiter. In Massachusetts, that number jumps up to an average of $78,263. While the top earners take home more than $104,000 a year, the majority of LMHC salaries range from $$55,000 to $82,500. Demand for LMHCs is among the highest in the field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects an average of 41,000 new jobs in mental health counseling annually from 2020 to 2030.
2. Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Counselors
Mental health issues often contribute to substance use, and vice versa. The National Institute of Mental Health reported that about 50 percent of people with substance use disorders also cope with a co-occurring mental disorder.
Substance addiction counselors and mental health counselors must be equipped to manage these overlapping needs, helping patients to work through emotional crises in healthy ways while reducing dependency on harmful substances.
The median salary for an addictions counselor is $43,789, with the upper 10 percent earning more than $78,700, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Massachusetts, addiction counselors can expect to earn pay of approximately $60,220, and more in urban areas like Boston. Demand is high for jobs in addiction counseling, due in part to a growing movement to manage substance abuse conflicts through therapy, rather than incarceration. BLS projects a 23 percent increase in job growth between 2020 and 2030.
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3. Career and School Counselor Salary
Career counselors or coaches help students and working professionals explore occupations and make plans to further their education or career. Similarly, school counselors foster student success by assessing their academic performance and identifying areas for improvement. In both roles, counselors may address underlying issues affecting a client’s career or academic life, such as social skills, anxiety, time management, or lack of focus.
School counselors practice at all levels of education, ranging from elementary to postgraduate students. Career counselors work with adults and are usually employed in colleges, organizations, or private coaching firms.
The median salary for career and school counselors is $58,120 per year, according to the BLS, and employment in the field is expected to grow 11 percent from 2020 to 2030.
4. Social Worker Salary
Social workers provide support and advocacy for people who are coping with challenges in everyday life by finding programs and resources that can help. Social workers need to be skilled at building relationships because they are tasked with assessing the needs of individuals or communities who may be dealing with a variety of physical, mental, or environmental obstacles, such as abuse, illness, low income, unemployment, or addiction.
While many aspiring social workers choose to earn their Master of Social Work (MSW) in order to break into the field, it is also possible to become a social worker with a Master in Counseling. This degree is often held by individuals who started their career in a counseling capacity before moving into social work.
Government agencies, schools, shelters, community centers, and group homes are the most common places where social workers are employed, and annual median pay for this role is $51,760, according to BLS.
The demand is highest for child, family, and school social workers or healthcare social workers. However, social workers have clients of all ages, making their services highly valued in managing problems at different stages of life. As a result, BLS estimates a 12 percent increase in job growth for social workers between 2020 and 2030.
