Average Guidance Counselor Salary in South Africa for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Guidance Counselor salary for 2024 in South Africa 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 South African rand. To keep things simple, we are using the ZAR currency code instead of the currency symbol R.

How Much Does a Guidance Counselor Make in South Africa?

A Guidance Counselor working in South Africa will typically earn around 455,400 ZAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 208,600 ZAR to the highest average salary of 724,300 ZAR.

Average Annual Salary
455,400 ZAR
Average Monthly Salary
37,950 ZAR

Lowest Annual Salary
208,600 ZAR
Lowest Monthly Salary
17,383 ZAR

Highest Annual Salary
724,300 ZAR
Highest Monthly Salary
60,358 ZAR

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

Guidance 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 Guidance Counselor Salaries in South Africa

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Guidance Counselor can earn between 208,600 ZAR and 724,300 ZAR on average in South Africa. 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 Guidance Counselor in South Africa is 492,400 ZAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 492,400 ZAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 492,400 ZAR.

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 Guidance Counselor salary in South Africa, 25% of the population are earning less than 313,700 ZAR while 75% of the population earn more than 313,700 ZAR.

75% of the population earn less than 658,300 ZAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 658,300 ZAR.

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.

Guidance Counselor Salary by Experience Level in South Africa

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 guidance 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 Guidance Counselor in South Africa that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 239,000 ZAR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Guidance Counselor salary would increase to 315,900 ZAR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Guidance Counselor, the average salary would be 467,700 ZAR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 571,300 ZAR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Guidance Counselor with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 623,200 ZAR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Guidance Counselor with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 675,100 ZAR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
239,000 ZAR
2-5 Years +34%
315,900 ZAR
5-10 Years +48%
467,700 ZAR
10-15 Years +22%
571,300 ZAR
15-20 Years +9%
623,200 ZAR
20+ Years +8%
675,100 ZAR

Guidance Counselor Salary by Education Level in South Africa

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 Guidance Counselor in South Africa 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 Guidance Counselor in South Africa with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 272,800 ZAR.

  • Master's Degree. A Guidance Counselor in South Africa with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 424,900 ZAR.

  • PhD. A Guidance Counselor in South Africa with a phd education can earn an average salary of 714,600 ZAR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
272,800 ZAR
Master's Degree +57%
424,900 ZAR
PhD +68%
714,600 ZAR

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 South Africa is around 156,000 to 467,000 ZAR 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.

Guidance 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 South Africa, a male guidance counselor will earn an average of 431,100 ZAR, while a female guidance counselor will earn around 480,600 ZAR.

This means that a male guidance counselor earns approximately 10% less than a female guidance counselor for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in South Africa

Male
431,100 ZAR
Female +10%
480,600 ZAR

Guidance Counselor Average Pay Raise in South Africa

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 Guidance Counselor in South Africa is around 12% every 19 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in South Africa is around 8% every 18 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 = ( 12 ÷ 19 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Guidance Counselor in South Africa can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in South Africa for 2024

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

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

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Guidance Counselor Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa

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 Guidance Counselor is a moderate bonus based job, with 59% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

41% 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 2% to 7%.

Received Bonus
59%
No Bonus
41%

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 South Africa earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
386,400 ZAR
Private Sector -7%
361,500 ZAR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Guidance Counselor

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Guidance Counselor in South Africa.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 528,500 ZAR
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 404,600 ZAR
Assistant Instructor Counseling 181,600 ZAR
Career Counselor Counseling 444,300 ZAR
Consultant Counseling 451,000 ZAR
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 585,900 ZAR
Disability Consultant Counseling 384,200 ZAR
Employment Counselor Counseling 447,300 ZAR
Family Advocate Counseling 317,700 ZAR
Family Services Specialist Counseling 349,300 ZAR
Family Support Specialist Counseling 493,000 ZAR
Family Youth Worker Counseling 158,700 ZAR
Guidance Director Counseling 533,100 ZAR
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 504,400 ZAR
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 466,900 ZAR
Programs Coordinator Counseling 263,100 ZAR
Psychologist Counseling 638,700 ZAR
Supervising Counselor Counseling 483,400 ZAR
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 472,100 ZAR
Youth Advocate Counseling 259,100 ZAR
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 471,700 ZAR
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 286,400 ZAR
Youth Development Manager Counseling 576,500 ZAR

Salary Comparison by City

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

City Average Salary
Bloemfontein 420,800 ZAR
Cape Town 538,600 ZAR
Durban 519,300 ZAR
Johannesburg 500,100 ZAR
Port Elizabeth 430,500 ZAR
Pretoria 493,000 ZAR

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