Home / Occupations / Genetic Counselor
Genetic Counselor
Genetic Counselor profiles score highest on Analyzing and Law-Abiding. This page covers what the work involves, what the trait profile looks like, what it pays, and where the fit tends to break.
- Median pay
- $100,040per year, U.S. BLS 2025
- Entry education
- Graduate or professional degreetypical for the occupation
- Outlook
- BrightO*NET Bright Outlook occupation
SOURCE · O*NET 29-9092.00 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.
What the work involves
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.
Skills rated most important
Work context
O*NET importance and frequency ratings, 0–100.
The trait profile
Where Genetic Counselor profiles sit on the eleven Haliscope traits, derived from O*NET’s published interest and work-style data.
Who it fits, and who it doesn’t
Strong signals
- High Helping. Measures your orientation toward supporting and serving others. High scorers find fulfillment in teaching, counseling, and contributing to others' success.
- High Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
- High Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.
- High Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
- High Exploring. Measures your openness to new experiences and curiosity about the unknown. High scorers seek novelty, enjoy experimentation, and value the journey itself.
Friction points
- Low Helping. Measures your orientation toward supporting and serving others. High scorers find fulfillment in teaching, counseling, and contributing to others' success.
- Low Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
- Low Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.
- Low Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
These are what the occupation’s profile says, not a hiring criterion. Haliscope is not validated for hiring or screening, and none of these is disqualifying — they are where a fit most often breaks.
Getting in
Entry education: Graduate or professional degree.
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).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
O*NET Job Zone descriptions, U.S. Department of Labor.
Exposure to AI
How much of this work AI can already do, and how much AI tools help the people doing it, is scored task by task in the AI Risk Index.
Related occupations
Is this profile yours?
Take the assessment and see your eleven scores against this occupation and every other one Haliscope scores. A preview of your results is free; the full report is $10.00.
Start the assessment