Genetic Counselors
What Genetic Counselors Do
Assess individual or family risk for a variety of inherited conditions, such as genetic disorders and birth defects. Provide information to other healthcare providers or to individuals and families concerned with the risk of inherited conditions. Advise individuals and families to support informed decisionmaking and coping methods for those at risk. May help conduct research related to genetic conditions or genetic counseling.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 8.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Biologyimportance 4.8/5
- Psychologyimportance 4.6/5
- Medicine and Dentistryimportance 4.4/5
- Therapy and Counselingimportance 4.3/5
- English Languageimportance 4.1/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.9/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.7/5
- Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.4/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Telephone Conversations5.0/5
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
- Written Letters and Memos4.6/5
- Contact With Others4.6/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.4/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- School Psychologists98% skill match
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists98% skill match
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors98% skill match
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors97% skill match
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education97% skill match
- Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks97% skill match
- Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs97% skill match
- Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping97% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 4.0/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
- Instructingimportance 3.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.1/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- BRCAPRO
- Benetech PRA
- Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool
- CancerGene
- CyrillicSoftware Cyrillic
- Database software
- FileMaker Pro
- Ftree
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Empathy
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cooperation
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Sincerity
- Cautiousness
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- InvestigativeHigh
- SocialHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
- RealisticLow
Specific Interests
A more detailed breakdown of this occupation’s interest profile, per O*NET.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where genetic counselors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Pittsburgh, PA3.65× national avg
- 2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA2.91× national avg
- 3Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH2.76× national avg
- 4Salt Lake City-Murray, UT2.39× national avg
- 5San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA2.07× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Clinical and Counseling PsychologistsCareer Change
- School PsychologistsCareer Change
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and AdvisorsCareer Change
- Special Education Teachers, PreschoolCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Environmental Health
- George Washington University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$92,573
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)grads earn ~$86,115
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)grads earn ~$99,605
- University of South Carolina-Columbia (Columbia, SC)grads earn ~$58,715
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$98,728
Clinical/Medical Social Work
- Capella University (Minneapolis, MN)grads earn ~$59,050
- Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$58,045
- Walden University (Minneapolis, MN)grads earn ~$60,034
- Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA)grads earn ~$53,721
- Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$51,490
Genetics, General
- University of California-Davis (Davis, CA)grads earn ~$77,411
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)grads earn ~$68,402
- Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)grads earn ~$55,404
- University of Georgia (Athens, GA)
- Ohio State University-Main Campus (Columbus, OH)grads earn ~$63,767