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Rehabilitation Counseling

What Rehabilitation Counseling Majors Need to Know

Programs in Rehabilitation Counseling emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Rehabilitation Counseling graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Rehabilitation Counseling emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.7 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Rehabilitation Counseling program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Rehabilitation Counseling careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Rehabilitation Counseling graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Rehabilitation Counseling professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Rehabilitation Counseling graduates include:

• Occupational Therapy Professor
• Coding Educator
• Nutrition Professor
• Faculty Member
• Neurological Surgery Teacher
• Dentistry Teacher
• Teacher
• Associate Professor
• Urology Teacher
• Opticianry Teacher
• Clinical Full Professor
• Orthopedics Teacher
• Nutrition Teacher
• Clinical Assistant Professor
• Physical Therapy Professor

What Can You Do With a Rehabilitation Counseling Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Rehabilitation Counseling commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022
Rehabilitation Counselors	12.1%	$40,604	$32,299–$48,909

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Rehabilitation Counseling graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	35.7%
Doctoral degree	24.3%
Post-doctoral training	18.7%
Bachelor’s degree	13.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.5%
Postsecondary certificate	2.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.3%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

How Much Do Rehabilitation Counseling Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Rehabilitation Counseling graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$67,332
4 years	$70,102
5 years	$75,167

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $75,167 — roughly 12% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Rehabilitation Counseling Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for Rehabilitation Counseling. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	2	0
Master’s	12	9

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Rehabilitation Counseling graduates earn a median of $70,102 four years after completion — roughly 84% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29,603
Physical Therapy/Therapist	13,424
Occupational Therapy/Therapist	10,460
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other	2,445
Rehabilitation Science	1,107
Art Therapy/Therapist	768
Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy	722
Music Therapy/Therapist	651
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, Other	621
Orthotist/Prosthetist	408
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	150

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.