Career Counselors vs Child Development Specialists
Median pay is about $5k higher for Career Counselors. The usual entry education is master's for Career Counselors and bachelor's for Child Development Specialists.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Career Counselors | Child Development Specialists |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $64,330, higher | $59,550 |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $51,270, higher | $48,270 |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $82,870, higher | $76,070 |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +2.9% Growing | +4.4% Growing fast, higher |
| Openings a year | 27,800 | 33,900 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Master's | Bachelor's |
| Difficulty modeled | 2.6 / 5 | 2.8 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Very high | Moderate |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 91st pct | 34th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Career Counselors
- Active Learning
Only Child Development Specialists
- Monitoring
Both lean on active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, writing, critical thinking.
More comparisons
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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.