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Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers: what changes?

Consider Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors if you want to advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services. Consider Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers if you would rather assess and treat individuals with mental, emotional, or substance abuse problems, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drugs. Both list master's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

National median pay (2025)
$64,330
Route into the job
Master's degree
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
27,800
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors brief

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

National median pay (2025)
$60,280
Route into the job
Master's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate
Counsel clients in individual or group sessions to assist them in dealing with substance abuse, mental or physical illness, poverty, unemployment, or physical abuse.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
12,500
Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers has the edge on projected growth

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers is at 10.3% projected growth, compared with 2.9% projected growth for Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors.

2

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors has the edge on annual openings

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors is at 27,800 annual openings, compared with 12,500 annual openings for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers.

3

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors has the edge on median pay

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors is at $64,330, compared with $60,280 for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers.

55.4/ 100

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

vs
59.7/ 100

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

DimensionEducational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and AdvisorsMental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
Median pay (2025)$64,330$60,280
Pay percentile55.7 percentile48.5 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)2.9%10.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)27,80012,500
2025 employment389,500138,900
How you qualifyMaster's degreeMaster's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 5Job Zone 5
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingBLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors briefRead Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers brief

Try another comparison

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors vs Rehabilitation Counselors

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
$64,330 · 2.9% growth
Rehabilitation Counselors
$46,850 · 2.2% growth
Compare careers →

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors vs Healthcare Social Workers

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
$64,330 · 2.9% growth
Healthcare Social Workers
$67,880 · 8.5% growth
Compare careers →

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Healthcare Social Workers

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
$60,280 · 10.3% growth
Healthcare Social Workers
$67,880 · 8.5% growth
Compare careers →

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers vs Mental Health Counselor

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
$60,280 · 10.3% growth
Mental Health Counselor
$59,350 · 18.4% growth
Compare careers →
ChooseField compares fields using public labor-market and professional sources.