Career and Employment Counselors

Salaries vary greatly within the career and vocational counseling field. In November 2020, PayScale.com reported the average salary for college career counselors was $48,027. Salaries ranged from $35,000 or less to $72,000 or more. The U.S. Department of Labor places reported that school and career counselors earned a median annual wage of $57,040 in May 2019. The lowest paid 10 percent of these workers earned less than $34,380 per year, and the highest paid 10 percent made more than $96,090 annually. Those working for elementary and secondary schools had annual mean incomes of $64,060 in 2019; and for junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools, $51,120. Vocational-rehabilitation counselors earned annual mean wages of $44,960 in 2019. Annual earnings of career counselors vary greatly among educational institutions, with larger institutions offering the highest salaries. Counselors in business or industry tend to earn higher salaries.