Also called: VA peer specialist, Peer mentor
Veteran who uses their own recovery experience to support other veterans with mental health or substance-use challenges.
Peer specialists meet veterans for coffee, help them get to appointments, lead support groups, and share what worked for them. The VA employs over 1,000 of them. It's a meaningful entry into the mental health field.
Federal GS-5 to GS-9 pay; estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 0.5 years after high school. Veteran status, lived recovery experience, and peer specialist certification.
Ways in: Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Human Services, Psychology.
Growing faster than average. VA is required by law to expand peer support.
Low risk for 10 years. Shared lived experience is the job; AI can't replace it.
Classes: Psychology, Health, Sociology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 21-1094.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.