Mental Health Counselors

8.2/10 job score
AUTOMATION RISK
0.0%
risk level
POLLING
GROWTH
22.1%
by 2031
WAGES
$48,520
or $23.33 hourly
VOLUME
310,880
as of 2021

What is the risk of automation?

We calculate this occupation to have an automation risk score of 0.0% (Totally Safe)

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated
Qualities required for this occupation:
Social Perceptiveness
Assisting and Caring for Others
Originality
Persuasion
Negotiation
Key
very important
quite important
[Show all metrics]

What do you think the risk of automation is?

How likely do you think this occupation will be taken over by robots/AI within the next 20 years?





How quickly is this occupation growing?

The number of 'Mental Health Counselors' job openings is expected to rise 22.1% by 2031
'Mental Health Counselors' is expected to be a very fast growing occupation in comparison to other occupations.
* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031.
Updated projections are due Sep 2023.

What are the median wages for 'Mental Health Counselors' in the United States?

In 2021 the median annual wage for 'Mental Health Counselors' was $48,520, or $23.33 hourly
'Mental Health Counselors' are paid 6.0% higher than the national median wage, which stands at $45,760
* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

How many people are employed as mental health counselors?

As of 2021 there were 310,880 people employed as Mental Health Counselors within the United States.
This represents around 0.22% of the employed workforce across the country.
Put another way, around 1 in 453 people are employed as Mental Health Counselors.

Job description

Counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health, with an emphasis on prevention. May help individuals deal with a broad range of mental health issues, such as those associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; or aging.

SOC Code: 21-1014.00

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Comments

Stephen Lim (Small chance) says
Nothing can ever replace human empathy and face-to-face interactions. Bots may give the most politically correct or evidence-based answers, but it can't provide the human touch, or when counsellors say to clients "I'm sorry about what you've gone through. I share your grief and am at a loss of words now."
Jun 07, 2020 at 02:08 PM
Friend says
Why would I pick a human counselor who knows a limited amount little to an AI who has instant access to the breadth of human knowledge. Its hubris for us to think that AI will not pass human intelligence at some point, and then we won't even be able to tell the difference. So yes at some point all jobs are in danger.
Jan 21, 2021 at 02:57 AM
Lindsey (No chance) says
Mental Health Counselling is a job that is about face to face interaction and understanding verbal and nonverbal communication. a robot cannot understand and pick up on these forms of communication the way humans were programmed to do. People have to go through multiple sessions before being able to help the person. You cannot give a robot emotions that humans are born with that are required with this job. Humans have personal experiences hearing, seeing or experiencing that can be used to help people. Robots cannot do any of this and that is why I am so confident that this profession will never be controlled by robots.
Oct 29, 2019 at 06:38 PM
Russell Johnson (No chance) says
counseling is a human experience.
Oct 01, 2019 at 09:46 PM
Sarah (No chance) says
I think expanding mental health counseling would be a good idea. This job shouldn't be leaving anywhere.
Jun 27, 2019 at 06:23 PM
Collyn Wang (No chance) says
Mental Health Councilling requires face to face communication, and robots can not detect emotions and feelings as well as humans can. Psychology is a very difficult major for a robot to be able to understand as we have not been able to properly program sympathy or emotions and creativity in robots. Even if we do, humans would probably rather communicate with other humans or even people who share the same problems as them, not robots.
Apr 25, 2019 at 11:41 AM
Makenna (Small chance) says
Counselling alone is about communicating to others and i think that if robots replace that job the work wont be done right.
Apr 10, 2019 at 03:50 PM

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