Is a Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries degree worth it?
Across 23 schools, graduates of Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries earn a median $40,556 five years out on $24,750 of debt — most often working as Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$40,556
Median debt
$24,750
Years to pay off
6
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
39%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+4.1%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
19.9%
$43,694 vs $34,984
Net price
$21,872/yr
Debt-test failures
30.8%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$18,649
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.