Rehabilitation Counselors
Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement.
- O*NET-SOC code
21-1015.00 - Preparation Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$46,850
Employment, U.S.94,740
Median hourly wage$22.52
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35,060 | $38,770 | $46,850 | $59,260 | $77,170 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 540 | $54,040 | 0.42 |
| Alaska | 130 | $61,590 | 0.64 |
| Arizona | 1,750 | $48,330 | 0.89 |
| Arkansas | 600 | $35,210 | 0.75 |
| California | 13,690 | $44,480 | 1.23 |
| Colorado | 980 | $47,840 | 0.56 |
| Connecticut | 2,410 | $56,340 | 2.33 |
| Delaware | 340 | $48,840 | 1.16 |
| District of Columbia | $49,680 | ||
| Florida | 3,110 | $45,990 | 0.51 |
| Georgia | 740 | $55,000 | 0.25 |
| Hawaii | 150 | $48,720 | 0.40 |
| Idaho | 820 | $54,550 | 1.57 |
| Illinois | 4,140 | $49,350 | 1.11 |
| Indiana | 2,030 | $44,390 | 1.04 |
| Iowa | 2,170 | $39,630 | 2.28 |
| Kansas | 1,370 | $41,980 | 1.56 |
| Kentucky | 790 | $58,540 | 0.65 |
| Louisiana | 280 | $47,990 | 0.24 |
| Maine | 330 | $51,150 | 0.83 |
| Maryland | 3,300 | $40,860 | 1.96 |
| Massachusetts | 5,760 | $47,320 | 2.60 |
| Michigan | 3,340 | $44,580 | 1.24 |
| Minnesota | 3,020 | $48,010 | 1.68 |
| Mississippi | 470 | $41,500 | 0.67 |
| Missouri | 2,020 | $45,180 | 1.13 |
| Montana | 330 | $45,240 | 1.06 |
| Nebraska | 480 | $47,050 | 0.77 |
| Nevada | 570 | $40,120 | 0.61 |
| New Hampshire | 430 | $42,600 | 1.04 |
| New Jersey | 1,630 | $49,730 | 0.63 |
| New Mexico | 210 | $48,240 | 0.39 |
| New York | 3,810 | $47,960 | 0.65 |
| North Carolina | 3,820 | $45,890 | 1.27 |
| North Dakota | 210 | $63,050 | 0.82 |
| Ohio | 3,690 | $42,620 | 1.09 |
| Oklahoma | 1,570 | $38,260 | 1.51 |
| Oregon | 1,630 | $54,970 | 1.36 |
| Pennsylvania | 4,130 | $48,650 | 1.12 |
| Rhode Island | 420 | $47,020 | 1.36 |
| South Carolina | 980 | $35,990 | 0.70 |
| South Dakota | 370 | $49,350 | 1.32 |
| Tennessee | 1,590 | $46,060 | 0.80 |
| Texas | 1,840 | $49,990 | 0.21 |
| Utah | 650 | $43,900 | 0.62 |
| Vermont | 310 | $50,030 | 1.69 |
| Virginia | 2,890 | $47,530 | 1.16 |
| Washington | 5,440 | $58,050 | 2.51 |
| West Virginia | 470 | $48,050 | 1.10 |
| Wisconsin | 2,390 | $46,530 | 1.34 |
| Wyoming | 70 | $67,640 | 0.39 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marriage and Family Therapists | 5 | 0.982 |
| 2 | Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | 5 | 0.981 |
| 3 | Mental Health Counselors | 5 | 0.980 |
| 4 | Healthcare Social Workers | 5 | 0.979 |
| 5 | School Psychologists | 5 | 0.978 |
| 6 | Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 5 | 0.978 |
| 7 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 4 | 0.977 |
| 8 | Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | 5 | 0.976 |
| 9 | Social and Human Service Assistants | 4 | 0.971 |
| 10 | Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | 5 | 0.967 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Rehabilitation Counselors, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriage and Family Therapists | Negotiation | 1.00 | 0.982 |
| Mental Health Counselors | Negotiation | 0.87 | 0.980 |
| School Psychologists | Reading Comprehension | 0.76 | 0.978 |
| Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | Negotiation | 0.87 | 0.978 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | Negotiation | 1.12 | 0.977 |
| Occupational Therapists | Instructing | 1.00 | 0.949 |
| Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses | Negotiation | 1.00 | 0.944 |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | Instructing | 1.00 | 0.936 |
| Credit Counselors | Mathematics | 1.00 | 0.932 |
| Special Education Teachers, Elementary School | Learning Strategies | 0.87 | 0.930 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Rehabilitation Counselors, excluding software Rehabilitation Counselors already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Patient electronic medical record EMR software | 7 of 20 | 24.9x |
| Athena Software Penelope Case Management | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| Social Solutions ETO | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| Noldus Information Technology The Observer XT | 3 of 20 | 34.6x |
| Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS | 5 of 20 | 5.8x |
| Statistical software | 5 of 20 | 5.8x |
| Google Meet | 5 of 20 | 5.2x |
| Database software | 9 of 20 | 2.5x |
| Zoom | 5 of 20 | 4.4x |
| eClinicalWorks EHR software | 4 of 20 | 3.8x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 4.12 | 5.00 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.50 | 4.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.62 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.62 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.50 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.75 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.75 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Science | Essential skill | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Therapy and Counseling | 4.85 | 5.91 |
| Psychology | 4.44 | 5.70 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.06 | 5.06 |
| English Language | 4.06 | 4.47 |
| Administrative | 3.59 | 4.55 |
| Education and Training | 3.56 | 4.56 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.29 | 3.94 |
| Administration and Management | 3.03 | 3.76 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.71 | 3.53 |
| Law and Government | 2.56 | 2.68 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.39 | 2.71 |
| Communications and Media | 2.24 | 2.09 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 2.24 | 1.82 |
| Mathematics | 2.18 | 2.21 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.06 | 2.24 |
| Public Safety and Security | 1.85 | 1.71 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.79 | 1.56 |
| Telecommunications | 1.79 | 1.09 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.76 | 1.73 |
| Transportation | 1.74 | 1.26 |
| Foreign Language | 1.65 | 1.35 |
| Production and Processing | 1.44 | 0.82 |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.38 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.32 | 0.74 |
| Geography | 1.29 | 0.59 |
| Food Production | 1.24 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.21 | not rated |
| Design | 1.21 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.21 | not rated |
| Mechanical | 1.18 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.09 | not rated |
| Chemistry | 1.06 | not rated |
| Physics | 1.06 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Oral Expression | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speech Clarity | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Near Vision | 3.38 | 3.75 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Information Ordering | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Originality | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Selective Attention | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Time Sharing | 2.62 | 2.38 |
| Memorization | 2.38 | 2.50 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Number Facility | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Visualization | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Trunk Strength | 1.88 | 1.25 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 1.62 | 1.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 1.50 | 0.88 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Finger Dexterity | 1.38 | 0.62 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Control Precision | 1.25 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.25 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.12 | not rated |
| Depth Perception | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
| Reaction Time | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Outlook hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Budgeting software
- Chart Links
- Client information database software
- Data input software
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- Email software
- Encryption software
- Fanatic Software Informant
- Global positioning system GPS software
- Microsoft ActiveSync
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Mobile Explorer MME
- Microsoft Office Mobile
- Microsoft Office Outlook
- Netscape Navigator
- Scheduling software
- SkillTRAN Job Browser Pro
- SkillTRAN OASYS
- Test interpretation software
- Virus protection software
- Web browser software
- Word recognition software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 1,080 | 6.90 | $55,600 |
| El Centro, CA | 260 | 6.40 | $43,960 |
| Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 450 | 5.80 | $64,420 |
| Yakima, WA | 290 | 4.83 | $55,990 |
| Springfield, MA | 520 | 4.26 | $45,520 |
| Pittsfield, MA | 140 | 4.11 | $42,350 |
| Worcester, MA | 850 | 3.97 | $54,270 |
| Johnstown, PA | 110 | 3.91 | $70,450 |
| Waterbury-Shelton, CT | 380 | 3.90 | $44,350 |
| Rocky Mount, NC | 120 | 3.69 | $43,130 |