🏛️
State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies
California Department of Rehabilitation, Texas Workforce Commission, New York State Education Department
Rehabilitation Counselors
Rehabilitation counselors help people with disabilities, injuries, or long-term health conditions plan for work, school, and independent living. The job is distinct because it combines counseling with practical problem-solving: you may be arranging accommodations, coordinating with doctors and therapists, and tackling barriers like transportation or inaccessible workplaces. The tradeoff is that the work can be deeply meaningful, but the pay is only moderate and many clients face problems that no counselor can fully control.
Also known as Vocational Rehabilitation CounselorVocational CounselorDisability CounselorRehabilitation Services CounselorVocational Rehabilitation Specialist
Median Salary
$46,110
Mean $51,260
U.S. Workforce
~89K
10K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+1.4%
91.9K to 93.2K
Entry Education
Master's degree
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Rehabilitation Counselors sits in the Healthcare category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~89K workers, with a median annual pay of $46,110 and roughly 10K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 91.9 K in 2024 to 93.2K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with Bachelor's degree in psychology, rehabilitation, social work, or a related field, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Rehabilitation Aide and can progress toward Rehabilitation Program Supervisor. High-value skills usually include Vocational Assessment & Disability Evaluation, Case Management Systems, and Electronic Case Notes & Recordkeeping, paired with soft skills such as Active Listening, Speaking, and Social Perceptiveness.
Core Responsibilities
- Meet with clients to understand their work history, health challenges, goals, and the obstacles that are getting in the way of school or employment.
- Review medical records, school records, interview notes, and assessment results to decide what services a client qualifies for and what support they need.
- Work with doctors, therapists, teachers, employers, and other professionals to build a practical rehabilitation plan and keep everyone aligned.
- Set up workplace supports such as job coaching, assistive equipment, or changes to the work environment so a client can succeed on the job.
Keep exploring: more Healthcare careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Meet with clients to understand their work history, health challenges, goals, and the obstacles that are getting in the way of school or employment.
02 Review medical records, school records, interview notes, and assessment results to decide what services a client qualifies for and what support they need.
03 Work with doctors, therapists, teachers, employers, and other professionals to build a practical rehabilitation plan and keep everyone aligned.
04 Set up workplace supports such as job coaching, assistive equipment, or changes to the work environment so a client can succeed on the job.
05 Help clients solve real-world barriers like transportation, scheduling, or inaccessible workplaces, and stay in touch during training or placement to fix problems early.
06 Track each client's progress, write case notes, and update the plan when goals change or a placement is not working.
Industries That Hire
🤝
Nonprofit Disability Services
Easterseals, Goodwill Industries, The Arc
🏥
Hospitals and Health Systems
Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente
🎓
Schools and Universities
Arizona State University, University of Michigan, Georgia State University
🛡️
Insurance and Disability Management
The Hartford, Cigna, MetLife
Pros and Cons
Advantages
+
The work has a clear human impact: you help people return to work, stay in school, or keep their independence after a setback.
+
Demand is steady, with about 10.0 thousand annual openings even though overall growth is only 1.4% from 2024 to 2034.
+
You get to work with a wide mix of professionals, including physicians, psychologists, therapists, schools, and employers.
+
The role gives you a blend of counseling and practical problem-solving, which keeps the work from feeling purely administrative or purely clinical.
+
The job does not require prior work experience or on-the-job training, so once you have the right degree, you can move into the field directly.
Challenges
-
Pay is only moderate for a graduate-level helping profession, with a median salary of $46,110 and a mean of $51,260.
-
Growth is slow at 1.4%, so openings come more from turnover and retirements than from rapid expansion.
-
The job can hit a ceiling in some agencies, where advancement depends on public funding and limited supervisor openings rather than strong growth.
-
A lot of the work is documentation and coordination, so the emotional counseling side is often matched by heavy paperwork and follow-up.
-
Many barriers are structural, not personal: inaccessible workplaces, transportation gaps, and inflexible schedules can limit outcomes even when the counselor does everything right.
Career Progression
Rehabilitation Aide
0-2 years
$30K-$38K
Supports counselors with scheduling, paperwork, client follow-up, and basic resource coordination while learning the field.
Rehabilitation Counselor
2-6 years
$39K-$55K
Works directly with clients to assess barriers, build plans, coordinate services, and help with training or job placement.
Senior Rehabilitation Counselor THIS ROLE
6-10 years
$56K-$70K
Handles more complex cases, mentors newer staff, and works with harder-to-place clients or multiple service providers.
Rehabilitation Program Supervisor
10+ years
$71K-$88K
Oversees counselors, manages caseload standards, and helps shape program policy, funding use, and community partnerships.
Education Paths
Bachelor's degree in psychology, rehabilitation, social work, or a related field
A common entry route, used by 55.86% of workers in this role, especially when paired with internships or supervised experience.
Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or a closely related field
The BLS says this is the typical entry point, and 27.86% of workers in the occupation report this level of education.
High school diploma plus extensive experience in human services or job coaching
This is a much less common route, but 12.92% of workers in the occupation report a high school diploma as their highest level of education.
Post-master's certificate or licensure-focused training
A smaller group, 2.08% of workers, report a post-master's certificate, which can help people with a related degree move into rehabilitation counseling.
Key Skills
Technical
Vocational Assessment & Disability Evaluation 86%
Case Management Systems 84%
Electronic Case Notes & Recordkeeping 83%
ADA Accommodation Planning 82%
Benefits Navigation (SSI/SSDI, Workers' Comp, VA) 81%
Assistive Technology & Workplace Adaptations 80%
Soft Skills
Active ListeningSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationCritical ThinkingCoordination Job Outlook and Trends
+1.4%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
10K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 91.9K to 93.2 K over the next decade, representing 1.4% growth. Around 10 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently Limited. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.