Map the family's health history
Ask which relatives had a condition and their age when it began, then chart them to spot patterns.
Career profile
Genetic Counselor
Genetic counselors connect family histories and test results to the health choices people make.
The science is only part of the conversation. Counselors also help people choose what they want to learn and handle their feelings about the result.
A day in the life
Set expectations for a test
You explain what the test can and can't show, and ask about hopes and fears before they decide.
Put the result in plain words
Tie the lab finding to the person's own history, and explain what it might mean for their relatives.
Stay with someone through hard news
If someone gets upset, slow down for questions and feelings, and help them find extra support.
Write up the visit
Record your assessment and the discussion so the patient and referring clinician can reread it after the visit.
Quick facts
Master's degree
United States
$100,040 a year
United States · May 2025
10.4% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Master's degreeGenetic counseling graduate study typically takes about two years after a bachelor's degree.
Pay
$100,040 a yearNational median for genetic counselors, equivalent to $48.09 an hour.
Outlook
10.4% projected growthAbout 300 openings a year are projected nationally, including replacements for workers who leave.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy using biology to work through a person's question.
- You like finding a clearer way to explain something complicated.
- You can listen while someone considers a choice you would make differently.
Things to weigh
- Conversations about inherited illness can be emotionally heavy, especially when a family is already coping with a diagnosis.
- You spend time checking records, writing reports and reading new research between conversations.
Where AI may help
Software helps draw family diagrams. In cancer genetics, researchers have also tested chatbots that deliver education before testing.
What people still lead
You connect information to a family's situation and respond to the concerns that emerge during the conversation.
What we can’t predict yet
How much routine education will move into automated chats remains unsettled; the balance between screen-based preparation and counselor appointments may change.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use national wages as a reference when comparing an offer's location, responsibilities and benefits.
The national midpoint
Genetic counselors had a median wage of $100,040 a year, or $48.09 an hour. Half earned more and half earned less; this is not a starting salary.
The national spread
The 10th-percentile wage was $78,270 and the 90th-percentile wage was $138,760 a year. These mark the middle 80% of wages, not entry-level and senior salaries.
Growth in a small field
Employment is projected to grow 10.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings annually from growth and worker replacement. National growth does not guarantee a nearby opening.
Getting started
Complete an accredited graduate program
- What the route involves
- Earn a bachelor's degree, meet the program's prerequisites, then complete a genetic counseling master's accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC). Study genetics and counseling and practice with patients in supervised clinical rotations.
- What it can lead to
- Graduation from a program accredited when you enrolled establishes eligibility to apply for the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) examination. Passing it earns the Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) credential.
Apply with recognized international training
- What the route involves
- If you already trained overseas, submit your genetic counseling master's record and current international registration or certification to ABGC for review.
- What it can lead to
- Qualifying applicants may become eligible to take the certification examination through the international pathway.
- What to check
- ABGC currently recognizes international programs accredited through the Human Genetics Society of Australasia. An overseas degree alone does not establish eligibility.
The usual route is specialized graduate education after college. A separate, restricted pathway applies to counselors already trained internationally.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization. This path also has a credential or licensing boundary; see the requirements and limits.
Get established
Learn your clinic's visit and follow-up routines, and build a reliable way to organize histories, results and patient summaries.
Deepen your specialty
Build experience in an area such as prenatal or cancer genetics, becoming more fluent in its testing choices and patient questions.
Teach or improve a service
Take on teaching students or clinicians, or help improve how a genetic counseling service handles care.
Where you can work
Pediatric cancer genetics clinic
You work with children and parents alongside doctors and nurses. A child's result can bring questions about siblings and other relatives into the same conversation.
- Indoors
Genetic testing laboratory
In consultative roles, you help clinicians choose tests and understand results, working with laboratory genetics specialists. Your audience includes the professionals caring for the patient.
- Indoors
- Lab
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Invent a three-generation family and draw a health-history diagram with a few fictional diagnoses and ages. Explain to a friend what you would want to ask next and what the diagram cannot tell you. Notice whether you enjoy both organizing the details and explaining uncertainty.
Stay safe: Use fictional information; do not estimate a real person's genetic risk.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 29-9092.00 — Genetic Counselors. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook — Genetic Counselors. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — National estimates, SOC 29-9092; supplied facts binding. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2025–2035 Employment Projections, Table 1.2 — SOC 29-9092; supplied facts binding. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Genetic Counseling and Testing. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Genetic counselors: Putting together the pieces. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Cancer Predisposition Treatment Team. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- ARUP Laboratories. Genetics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- JAMA Network Open; abstract hosted by the National Library of Medicine. Uptake of Cancer Genetic Services for Chatbot vs Standard-of-Care Delivery Models: The BRIDGE Randomized Clinical Trial. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. Find a Program. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- American Board of Genetic Counseling. About the CGC Credential. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- American Board of Genetic Counseling. Eligibility Requirements. Accessed 2026-10-09.