A person working as a Guidance Counselor in Ireland typically earns around 47,400 EUR per year. Salaries range from 23,200 EUR (lowest) to 74,000 EUR (highest).
This is the average yearly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Guidance Counselor salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
Guidance Counselor salaries in Ireland range from 23,200 EUR per year (minimum salary) to 74,000 EUR per year (maximum salary).
The median salary is 48,400 EUR per year, which means that half (50%) of people working as Guidance Counselor(s) are earning less than 48,400 EUR while the other half are earning more than 48,400 EUR. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Guidance Counselor(s) are earning less than 32,200 EUR while 75% of them are earning more than 32,200 EUR. Also from the diagram, 75% of Guidance Counselor(s) are earning less than 62,400 EUR while 25% are earning more than 62,400 EUR.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down Guidance Counselor salaries by experience level and this is what we found.
A Guidance Counselor with less than two years of experience makes approximately 27,600 EUR per year.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 35,400 EUR per year, 29% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 48,900 EUR per year, 38% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, Guidance Counselor(s) whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 60,500 EUR per year, 24% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 64,900 EUR per year, 7% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 69,200 EUR per year, 7% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
0 - 2 Years | 27,600 EUR | |
2 - 5 Years | +29% | 35,400 EUR |
5 - 10 Years | +38% | 48,900 EUR |
10 - 15 Years | +24% | 60,500 EUR |
15 - 20 Years | +7% | 64,900 EUR |
20+ Years | +7% | 69,200 EUR |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down Guidance Counselor salaries by education level in order to make a comparison.
When the education level is Bachelor's Degree, the average salary of a Guidance Counselor is 32,400 EUR per year.
While someone with a Master's Degree gets a salary of 44,600 EUR per year, 38% more than someone having a Bachelor's Degree degree.
A PhD gets its holder an average salary of 73,000 EUR per year, 64% more than someone with a Master's Degree.
Bachelor's Degree | 32,400 EUR | |
Master's Degree | +38% | 44,600 EUR |
PhD | +64% | 73,000 EUR |
A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in Ireland costs anywhere from 16,000 Euro(s) to 48,100 Euro(s) and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.
You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.
Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch into a higher paying job. The numbers seem to support the thoery. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male Guidance Counselor employees in Ireland earn 5% less than their female counterparts on average.
Male | 46,200 EUR | |
Female | +5% | 48,500 EUR |
Guidance Counselor(s) in Ireland are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 13% every 17 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 9% granted to employees every 16 months.
The term 'Annual Salary Increase' usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rarely that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 ÷ Increase Frequency
Banking | 5% | |
Energy | 1% | |
Information Technology | 6% | |
Healthcare | 2% | |
Travel | 7% | |
Construction | 3% | |
Education | 8% |
Listed above are the average annual increase rates for each industry in Ireland for the year 2022. Companies within thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises. Exceptions do exist, but generally speaking, the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. These figures tend to change frequently.
A Guidance Counselor is considered to be a moderate bonus-based job due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
43% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 57% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 3% to 6% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 57% | |
No Bonus | 43% |
The most standard form of bonus where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fix amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The average salary for Guidance Counselor is 11% more than that of Counseling. Also, Counseling salaries are 11% more than those of All Jobs.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Adoption Services Director | 54,200 EUR | ![]() |
Alcohol and Drug Counselor | 41,800 EUR | ![]() |
Assistant Instructor | 18,700 EUR | ![]() |
Career Counselor | 46,200 EUR | ![]() |
Consultant | 49,400 EUR | ![]() |
Director of Rehabilitation Services | 60,900 EUR | ![]() |
Disability Consultant | 38,100 EUR | ![]() |
Employment Counselor | 46,600 EUR | ![]() |
Family Advocate | 33,700 EUR | ![]() |
Family Services Specialist | 36,500 EUR | ![]() |
Family Support Specialist | 51,900 EUR | ![]() |
Family Youth Worker | 16,700 EUR | ![]() |
Guidance Counselor | 47,400 EUR | ![]() |
Guidance Director | 55,500 EUR | ![]() |
Mental Health Counselor | 52,800 EUR | ![]() |
Programs Coordinator | 28,100 EUR | ![]() |
Psychologist | 66,900 EUR | ![]() |
Supervising Counselor | 50,900 EUR | ![]() |
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor | 51,500 EUR | ![]() |
Youth Advocate | 26,800 EUR | ![]() |
Youth Care Counselor | 49,500 EUR | ![]() |
Youth Care Specialist | 29,900 EUR | ![]() |
Youth Development Manager | 60,100 EUR | ![]() |
City | Average Salary |
Cork | 51,100 EUR |
Dublin | 53,300 EUR |
Galway | 46,500 EUR |
Limerick | 49,600 EUR |
Waterford | 44,500 EUR |
Where can you get paid more, working for a private company or for the government? Public sector employees in Ireland earn 5% more than their private sector counterparts on average across all sectors.
Private Sector | 37,600 EUR | |
Public Sector | +5% | 39,300 EUR |