Community and Social Service · Holland code SEI

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.

Also called: CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor), Job Coach, Vocational Placement Specialist, VRC (Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor), Classification Counselor, Employment Advisor, Rehabilitation Specialist, Vocational Counselor.

O*NET 21-1015.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $46,850; Middle half earn $38,770 to $59,260. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
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: +1% · Slower than average; 91,900 jobs in 2024, projected 93,200. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Rehabilitation counselors".

What the work involves

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

Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
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.
Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.
Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
Develop and maintain relationships with community referral sources, such as schools or community groups.
Maintain close contact with clients during job training and placements to resolve problems and evaluate placement adequacy.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Monitoring4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Writing3.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Therapy and Counseling4.8 / 5
Psychology4.4 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.1 / 5
English Language4.1 / 5
Administrative3.6 / 5
Education and Training3.6 / 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.

Realistic4
Investigative38
Artistic33
Social97
Enterprising43
Conventional38

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)

public employment service manager · DE Leiter der öffentlichen Arbeitsverwaltung/Leiterin der öffentlichen Arbeitsverwaltung · FR directeur d’agence publique pour l’emploi/directrice d’agence publique pour l’emploi
occupational therapist · DE Ergotherapeut/Ergotherapeutin · FR ergothérapeute
occupational therapy assistant · DE Ergotherapieassistent/Ergotherapieassistentin · FR assistant ergothérapeute/assistante ergothérapeute
employment programme coordinator · DE Koordinator für Beschäftigungsprogramme/Koordinatorin für Beschäftigungsprogramme · FR coordinateur de programmes pour l’emploi/coordinatrice de programmes pour l’emploi
career guidance advisor · DE Berufsberater/Berufsberaterin · FR conseiller d’orientation/conseillère d’orientation
employment and vocational integration consultant · DE Berater für Beschäftigung und berufliche Eingliederung/Beraterin für Beschäftigung und berufliche Eingliederung · FR conseiller en emploi et en insertion professionnelle/conseillère en emploi et en insertion professionnelle

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 middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.50. 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 (21-1015).

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