The public cry for improved, and more equitable, mental health access continues. Even before the pandemic began, the need for counselors was expected to increase by 25% over the next nine years, far outpacing normal occupational growth. The Department of Health and Human Services projects a shortage of counselors by 2030 in 32 states. On the surface, these statistics make becoming a mental health professional a potentially attractive career path.
Yet, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a $47,660 median salary for mental health counselors in 2020, even lower than median earnings for Americans overall, across all professions and educational levels. This alone can reduce enthusiasm for entering the field. Add to that the expenditures needed to become a counselor and the picture gets worse. Becoming a counselor requires a master’s degree, with many (if not most) masters-level counseling students funding these degrees on their own, without the aid of scholarships or graduate assistantships. In a recent study, a group of 180 counseling (and marriage/family therapy) professionals carried an average total student loan balance of about $65,000, with only 39 people reporting no student loan debt remaining and nearly 25% reporting a balance of $100,000 or more. Psychologists are even more debt burdened (though also higher paid than counselors), given their doctoral-level training. In one large study, a whopping 46% of early career psychologists indicated that, if they had a “do over,” they would not choose the same career again.
It can be difficult to translate annual salaries and debt burden into meaningful numbers that reflect exactly how well a particular person can meet their basic needs and their debts. Cost of living varies considerably from one area to another so we have to go with some basic numbers with the understanding that these are generalized. However, the internet is chock-full of helpful calculators that can help us get some idea of how the wages/debt picture looks. Let’s suppose an unmarried person with no dependents graduates from a master’s program with a total student loan balance of $65,000 and is offered a job making $48,000/year. That person would bring home about $3000/month after federal, state, and local taxes. On a standard student loan repayment plan of 10 years at the federal rate of 4.29%, the graduate’s monthly loan repayment would be $679. This leaves our graduate with approximately $2321/month to pay for all other living expenses. With median rent for a one-bedroom apartment coming in at $1200, our graduate now has $1,121 left for the month. Subtract $240 for utilities each month, $50 for a cell phone plan, and $250 for groceries, and our graduate now has $581 for the month. However, our graduate has not yet paid for transportation costs (car payment, fuel, maintenance) or paid any premiums for healthcare, let alone put any money aside for retirement. Looking at the numbers in this way, the problem becomes obvious.
This math brings up an uncomfortable questions: With these high debt loads and low salaries how can we expect to attract and retain people in the profession? How do we convince talented undergraduates that a career in counseling is economically viable for them? Why is the cost of completing a master's degree in counseling so high when the potential salary after graduation is so low? And why is the median salary for a counselor lower than that of the median salary for plumbers, carpenters, electricians and other skilled trade careers which only require a high-school diploma?
It’s time for counseling leaders and educators to publically highlight the unsustainable debt-to-income ratio within the counseling profession, juxtaposing this tough reality with the national demand for more affordable mental healthcare access. The facts are on our side: Let’s use them to create a more economically sustainable profession!
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