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By Michelle Jackson, MS, CGC Certified Genetic Counselor
Genetic counselors have advanced training in medical genetics and counseling to guide and support patients seeking information about how inherited diseases and conditions might affect them or their families, and to interpret genetic test results based on your personal and family history. In addition to different specialty areas, genetic counselors can have roles outside of seeing patients, such as, research, education, industry, marketing, and many other roles across the healthcare and genetics fields that continue to evolve.
There are many reasons individuals are drawn to the profession of genetic counseling. In this post, we will focus on exploring salaries as one of those highlights. Genetic counselors typically rely on the annual Professional Status Survey (PSS) conducted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) to provide a comprehensive look at salary data in the field of genetic counseling. However, there is additional genetic counselor salary data compiled and available on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website as well. There are a variety of factors that play a role in genetic counselors’ salaries, such as experience, geography, education/certification, area of practice, and demand.
The PSS reported the average starting salary for a full-time genetic counselor who graduated in 2023 was $81,373. Graduates in non-direct patient care positions had significantly higher starting salaries compared to those in direct patient care and mixed positions (p<.01). The average yearly gross salary reported by full-time genetic counselors who had direct patient care positions was $91,799, non-direct patient care positions was $132,878 and mixed positions were $111,145. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the average salary for a genetic counselor as of May 2023 was $98,130. This variation could be due to sample size, reporting bias, and timing of data collection. Regardless, it provides a decent range of the average annual salary of a genetic counselor.
As mentioned earlier, various factors can influence a genetic counselor’s salary. The PSS 2024 takes a comprehensive dive into many factors and sub-factors that play a role in salary. Here we highlight a few areas that play a role in the variation of genetic counselor salary.
As in most cases, the longer you practice in the field of genetic counseling, the more you earn. There are exceptions to this rule, such as if you change areas of practice or move from a higher-earning geographic location to a lower-earning location. According to the PSS 2024, the average salary from <1 year to 35-40 years is $81,297-$141,340, and the range for the same experience time period is $75,000-$200,000. Most of the data available is from genetic counselors who have been practicing for 1-9 years.
Salary based on geography is a bit tricky in the genetic counseling field. For instance, if you look at it very simply, a genetic counselor living and working in California, at a company also in California, would have an average salary of $138,231, with a range of $109,000-$185,000. However, if you account for the cost of living, a genetic counselor in San Francisco would have an average salary of $143,500, but the one living in Los Angeles would have an average salary of $125,000. To complicate this topic even further to account for remote or hybrid working situations, companies tend to handle this based on the state laws where they are located and per their company policies. In my personal experience, they tend to utilize the cost of living information for where the employee is physically located. However, it is always recommended that you know this information and use it to your benefit in employment negotiations.
There are variations in salary differences by education/degree type held and by certification status. Full-time genetic counselors who hold advanced degrees in addition to genetic counseling degrees earn significantly more than those with only genetic counseling degrees or those with degrees in areas other than genetic counseling (p<.01). Genetic counselors with MBAs reported the highest average salaries, followed by those with doctoral degrees. Differences by certification status primarily relate to new graduates who are not yet certified. Just over three-quarters (77%) of genetic counselors who are not board-certified have less than one year in the profession, and they earn significantly less than those who have more years in the profession and are board-certified (p<.01).
When thinking about all of the areas in which genetic counselors practice, that could get overwhelming. There are also often not enough genetic counselors practicing in a certain area to have a set of meaningful data. For this topic, it seemed most helpful to focus on the major areas of practice where there are large enough datasets. There are additional areas of practice listed in the PSS 2024 that can be examined if so desired.
The field of genetic counseling is a rapidly growing field. As our field continues to grow, so will our salary potential. It is important to the growth of our field with the additional language being offered more readily by our genetic counselors and the variety of service delivery models that are available. As these and other trends and innovations continue to expand, the value of our profession will solidify even further in the medical field. In addition, with work being done to create a new CPT code for genetic counselors to bill for services and licensure in additional states, all of these efforts will continue to help with increasing salary trends for genetic counselors as our field moves forward.
The Masters of Science in Genetic Counseling program at Southern California University is an innovative and comprehensive experience that allows students to prepare themselves for the highest earning potential right out of graduate school. Graduates completing the program will meet accreditation requirements for ABGC board certification and respective state licensure. The emphasis on professional advancement and whole-person wellness is designed to nurture pioneers in the realm of genetic counseling and genomic medicine.
It is clear from the available data that genetic counseling is a thriving profession with much to offer. Isolating salary trends in this profession demonstrates the average starting salary is six figures or very close to it, and wages continue to increase over time; they never decrease with any of the factors examined. I encourage you to look beyond salary trends and dive deeper into other factors that also make this profession great because there are many.
Learn more about SCU’s MSCG program.
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