How people get into Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors

What it takes to do this work

We do not hold a licence requirement for this one. That usually means the route in is hiring and training rather than a classroom, but we would rather tell you we cannot see one than promise there is nothing to it.

The jobs people hold first

These are the jobs people hold before moving into this one. Doing one of them is not the only way in, and it is not a requirement. It is the route the data can actually see.

Work people come from	Typical pay	Step up	Evidence
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers No licence we can see I do this now →	$49,590	+$4,170	Named career step
Child, Family, and School Social Workers No licence we can see I do this now →	$50,470	+$3,290	Named career step
Psychiatric Technicians No licence we can see I do this now →	$44,710	+$9,050	Named career step
Social and Human Service Assistants No licence we can see I do this now →	$46,550	+$7,210	Related work
Rehabilitation Counselors No licence we can see I do this now →	$47,310	+$6,450	Related work
Community Health Workers No licence we can see I do this now →	$48,920	+$4,840	Related work

Named career step Lightcast lists this as a career step from your kind of work, based on the skills the two jobs share and what local employers hire for. It is the strongest signal we have, though it is not a record of individual people moving.

Related work The federal O*NET occupation index lists this as related to your kind of work, because the two share skills and day-to-day activities. It is a match on the work itself, not a record of people moving between them.

We keep those labels apart because they are different strength claims, and none of them means we watched individual people make the move.

Routes that already pay more than substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors are left out, because those are side moves rather than ways in. So are routes needing more schooling than you told us about.

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