Average Career Counselor Salary in Canada for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Career Counselor salary for 2024 in Canada and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Canadian dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the CAD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Career Counselor Make in Canada?

A Career Counselor working in Canada will typically earn around 140,700 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 75,500 CAD to the highest average salary of 209,700 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
140,700 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
11,725 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
75,500 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
6,291 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
209,700 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
17,475 CAD

These are average salaries for a Career Counselor in Canada and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Career Counselor to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Career Counselor salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Career Counselor Salaries in Canada

So we've looked at the average salaries a Career Counselor will earn in Canada. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Career Counselor can earn between 75,500 CAD and 209,700 CAD on average in Canada. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Career Counselor in Canada is 127,600 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 127,600 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 127,600 CAD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Career Counselor salary in Canada, 25% of the population are earning less than 92,400 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 92,400 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 153,700 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 153,700 CAD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Career Counselor Salary by Experience Level in Canada

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average career counselor salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Career Counselor in Canada that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 86,100 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Career Counselor salary would increase to 108,200 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Career Counselor, the average salary would be 146,700 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 171,300 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Career Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 187,500 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Career Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 199,700 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
86,100 CAD
2-5 Years +26%
108,200 CAD
5-10 Years +32%
146,700 CAD
10-15 Years +18%
171,300 CAD
15-20 Years +11%
187,500 CAD
20+ Years +6%
199,700 CAD

Career Counselor Salary by Education Level in Canada

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Career Counselor in Canada based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Career Counselor in Canada with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 114,600 CAD.

  • Master's Degree. A Career Counselor in Canada with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 172,300 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
114,600 CAD
Master's Degree +53%
172,300 CAD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Canada is around 49,800 to 149,000 CAD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Career Counselor Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Canada, a male career counselor will earn an average of 140,200 CAD, while a female career counselor will earn around 137,100 CAD.

This means that a male career counselor earns approximately 2% more than a female career counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Canada

Male
140,200 CAD
Female -2%
137,100 CAD

Career Counselor Average Pay Raise in Canada

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Career Counselor in Canada is around 13% every 15 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Canada is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 15 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Career Counselor in Canada can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Canada for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Canada.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
2%
Energy
4%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
8%
Travel
1%
Construction
3%
Education
5%

Career Counselor Bonus and Incentive Rates in Canada

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Career Counselor is a moderate bonus based job, with 54% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

46% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5%.

Received Bonus
54%
No Bonus
46%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Canada earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
123,000 CAD
Private Sector -6%
115,600 CAD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Career Counselor

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Career Counselor in Canada.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 161,300 CAD
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 128,400 CAD
Assistant Instructor Counseling 61,400 CAD
Consultant Counseling 147,900 CAD
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 187,500 CAD
Disability Consultant Counseling 118,900 CAD
Employment Counselor Counseling 151,800 CAD
Family Advocate Counseling 97,100 CAD
Family Services Specialist Counseling 109,700 CAD
Family Support Specialist Counseling 160,700 CAD
Family Youth Worker Counseling 48,600 CAD
Guidance Counselor Counseling 152,900 CAD
Guidance Director Counseling 166,600 CAD
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 163,800 CAD
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 150,100 CAD
Programs Coordinator Counseling 77,000 CAD
Psychologist Counseling 200,600 CAD
Supervising Counselor Counseling 152,700 CAD
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 156,200 CAD
Youth Advocate Counseling 83,800 CAD
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 142,300 CAD
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 87,500 CAD
Youth Development Manager Counseling 177,200 CAD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Canada, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Brampton 150,100 CAD
Calgary 156,200 CAD
Edmonton 157,600 CAD
Gatineau 128,400 CAD
Halifax 142,100 CAD
Hamilton 151,800 CAD
Kitchener 134,100 CAD
Markham 147,900 CAD
Mississauga 152,700 CAD
Montreal 151,800 CAD
Ottawa 153,700 CAD
Quebec 142,100 CAD
Regina 128,400 CAD
Richmond 123,800 CAD
Saskatoon 130,500 CAD
Surrey 137,100 CAD
Toronto 161,300 CAD
Vancouver 146,900 CAD
Vaughan 142,300 CAD
Windsor 140,200 CAD
Winnipeg 148,300 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in Canada.

City Average Salary
Alberta 146,900 CAD
British Columbia 165,900 CAD
Manitoba 156,200 CAD
New Brunswick 137,100 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 132,000 CAD
Northwest Territories 146,900 CAD
Nova Scotia 141,000 CAD
Nunavut 153,700 CAD
Ontario 166,600 CAD
Prince Edward Island 128,400 CAD
Quebec 163,800 CAD
Saskatchewan 146,700 CAD
Yukon 134,100 CAD

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