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Mental & Social Health Services

Types of Degrees Mental & Social Health Services Majors Are Earning

Those studying Mental & Social Health Services have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	1,855
Associate’s Degree	3,379
Bachelor’s Degree	2,961
Master’s Degree	24,840
Doctor’s Degree	386

What Mental & Social Health Services Majors Need to Know

Programs in Mental & Social Health Services emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Mental & Social Health Services graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Mental & Social Health Services emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Psychology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Mental & Social Health Services program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Mental & Social Health Services careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Mental & Social Health Services graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Mental & Social Health Services professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Benetech PRA	Medical software	—
FileMaker Pro	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Mental & Social Health Services graduates include:

• Case Manager
• Counselor
• Genetic Counseling Medical Specialist
• Cancer Program Consultant
• Pediatric Genetic Counselor
• Reproductive Genetic Counseling Coordinator
• Cancer Genetic Counselor
• Genetics Counselor
• Clinical Reviewer
• Prenatal Genetic Counselor
• Medical Science Liaison
• Prenatal and Pediatric Genetic Counselor
• Chromosomal Disorders Counselor
• Mitochondrial Disorders Counselor
• Genetic Counselor

What Can You Do With a Mental & Social Health Services Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Mental & Social Health Services commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Psychiatric Aides	3.6%	$51,090	$42,682–$59,498
Psychiatric Technicians	12.5%	$52,472	$40,919–$64,024

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Mental & Social Health Services graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	58.3%
Doctoral degree	10.6%
Bachelor’s degree	8.6%
Some college courses	5.2%
Post-doctoral training	4.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.7%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.2%
Postsecondary certificate	2.2%
First professional degree	1.9%
Post-master’s certificate	1.9%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Mental & Social Health Services?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 80.9% of Mental & Social Health Services degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	27,448	80.9%
Men	6,498	19.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Mental & Social Health Services graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	18,134	53.4%
Asian	1,022	3.0%
Hispanic or Latino	5,390	15.9%
Black or African American	5,711	16.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native	336	1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	68	0.2%
Two or More Races	1,280	3.8%
Race Unknown	1,495	4.4%
International Students	510	1.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Mental & Social Health Services Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Mental & Social Health Services graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$46,066
4 years	$46,824
5 years	$52,641

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $52,641 — roughly 14% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Mental & Social Health Services Programs

Distance learning is tracked by IPEDS for Mental & Social Health Services. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	57	32
Bachelor’s	36	15
Master’s	123	49
Doctoral (Research)	14	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Mental & Social Health Services Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Mental & Social Health Services graduates earn a median of $46,824 four years after completion — roughly 23% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health Care Professions	994,689
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	99,987
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	90,379
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	80,693
Public Health	41,086
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	38,201
Medicine	29,737
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29,603
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	24,761
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	23,250

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.