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.
- Median pay
- $46,850
- Doing it now
- 96,900
- By 2035
- Up 2.2%
- Usually needs
- Master's degree
a year
across the country
8,200 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
- Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
- Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
- Arrange for physical, mental, academic, vocational, and other evaluations to obtain information for assessing clients' needs and developing rehabilitation plans.
- Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.
- Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
- Maintain close contact with clients during job training and placements to resolve problems and evaluate placement adequacy.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Rehabilitation and Therapeutic ProfessionsSee 281 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Helping and teaching
Leading and persuading
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $46,850 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.