Youth Counselor / Worker
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Youth Counselor or Worker works with young people, primarily ages 13-18, to provide mentoring and support for dealing with problems. Works in a school or community-based program; may assist with referrals from parole or probation offices. Collaborates with teachers, family members, social workers and health care professionals to help young people facing challenges or crises.
Job Outlook
There were 361 Youth Counselor / Worker job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 12735 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Youth Counselor / Worker industry, which includes the Youth Counselor / Worker career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Youth Counselor / Worker jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $47,045.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $47,763.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Youth Counselor / Worker postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $34,848.
Education and Experience
Posted Youth Counselor / Worker jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 33.88% |
| Master's Degree | 21.77% |
| Doctoral Degree | 3.13% |
| Other | 43.24% |
Posted Youth Counselor / Worker jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 77.84% |
| 3 to 5 years | 17.06% |
| 6 to 8 years | 3.17% |
| 9+ years | 1.93% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Youth Counselor / Worker positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (33.02%)
- Management (17.9%)
- Planning (17.36%)
- Leadership (16.93%)
- Teaching (13.2%)
- Operations (11.16%)
- Incident Reporting (9.78%)
- Writing (9.14%)
- Good Driving Record (8.68%)
- Problem Solving (8.21%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Treatment Planning (24.89%)
- Social Work (24.93%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Bilingual (Spanish/English) (8.27%)
- Working With Children (17.04%)
- Family Counseling (7.93%)
- Behavior Management (11.69%)
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (1.35%)
- Conflict Resolution (5.81%)
- Mental Health (18.15%)
- Disabilities (8.77%)
- Child Welfare (5.08%)
- Crisis Intervention (14.84%)
- Human Services (15.65%)
- Case Management (9.32%)
- Medication Administration (7.81%)
- Trauma Care (11.89%)
- Cooking (3.05%)
- Family Therapy (6.77%)
- Psychology (19.49%)
- Behavioral Health (12.11%)
- Trauma Informed Approaches (5.45%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Social Work (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Youth Counselor / Worker skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Youth Counselor
- Youth Care Worker
- Youth Worker
- Youth Development Counselor
- Residential Youth Counselor
- Adolescent Counselor
- Youth Development Agent
- Residential Counselor
- Children's Counselor
- Childwatch Counselor
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Youth Counselor / Worker jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- YMCA (966)
- New Beginnings Therapeutic Services Limited (242)
- National Youth Advocate Program (157)
- Leidos (156)
- Youth Villages (145)
- Eckerd Connects (134)
- Rite Of Passage (121)
- Southwest Key Programs (111)
- Cambridge Health Alliance (110)
- Mount Prospect Academy (86)
North Carolina
- Eckerd Connects (90)
- YMCA (24)
- State of North Carolina (21)
- Youth Villages (13)
- Duke University (12)
- University of North Carolina (7)
- Durham County (7)
- Guilford County Schools (7)
- Charlotte Country Club (6)
- Alexander Youth Network (5)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.