Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code ISC

Genetic Counselors

Assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. Provide information to other healthcare providers or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions. Advise individuals and families to support informed decisionmaking and coping methods for those at risk. May help conduct research related to genetic conditions or genetic counseling.

Also called: Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC), Clinical Genetic Counselor, Genetic Services Coordinator, Lab Genetic Counselor (Laboratory Genetic Counselor), Cardiovascular Genetics Counselor, Hereditary Cancer Program Coordinator, Medical Science Liaison, Pediatric Genetics Clinical Coordinator.

O*NET 29-9092.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $100,040; Middle half earn $88,900 to $116,140. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 90% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +9% · Much faster than average; 4,000 jobs in 2024, projected 4,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Genetic counselors".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Provide counseling to patient and family members by providing information, education, or reassurance.
Analyze genetic information to identify patients or families at risk for specific disorders or syndromes.
Provide genetic counseling in specified areas of clinical genetics, such as obstetrics, pediatrics, oncology and neurology.
Discuss testing options and the associated risks, benefits and limitations with patients and families to assist them in making informed decisions.
Interview patients or review medical records to obtain comprehensive patient or family medical histories, and document findings.
Provide patients with information about the inheritance of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and various forms of cancer.
Interpret laboratory results and communicate findings to patients or physicians.
Write detailed consultation reports to provide information on complex genetic concepts to patients or referring physicians.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Biology4.8 / 5
Therapy and Counseling4.6 / 5
Psychology4.5 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry4.5 / 5
English Language4.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic11
Investigative81
Artistic22
Social74
Enterprising29
Conventional48

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

research manager · DE Forschungsleiter/Forschungsleiterin · FR directeur de recherche/directrice de recherche
physiologist · DE Physiologe/Physiologin · FR physiologiste
epidemiologist · DE Epidemiologe/Epidemiologin · FR épidémiologiste
geneticist · DE Genetiker/Genetikerin · FR généticien/généticienne
immunologist · DE Immunologe/Immunologin · FR immunologiste
pharmacologist · DE Pharmakologe/Pharmakologin · FR pharmacologue

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Social workers (2461)139,800 employed
Probation officers (2462)11,900 employed
Youth work professionals (2464)10,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.53. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-9092).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test