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.

Most important skills

Active Listening
Speaking
Monitoring
Social Perceptiveness
Coordination
Service Orientation
Reading Comprehension
Critical Thinking

Key knowledge

Therapy and Counseling
Psychology
Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Administrative
Education and Training
Sociology and Anthropology
Administration and Management

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.
Develop and maintain relationships with community referral sources, such as schools or community groups.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Enterprising, Investigative.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Master's Degree (82.4% of expert ratings)
Related experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (29.4%)
On-the-job training: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (35.3%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Rehabilitation Counselors is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Moderate	Higher on contact with others than 57% of occupations compared	53% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	High	Higher on dealing with the public than 64% of occupations compared	32% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Teamwork	Very low	Lower on teamwork than 86% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisions	High	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 74% of occupations compared	53% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	High	Higher on time pressure than 69% of occupations compared	56% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Conflict situations	Very high	Higher on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared	53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	High	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 79% of occupations compared	42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of error	Very low	Lower on consequence of error than 89% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: high
Conflict situations: very high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
Consequence of error: very low

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions