# Mental Health & Counselling jobs in Switzerland for international graduates

Mental Health & Counselling jobs in Switzerland: typical pay CHF 108,800, Job search 6 months. Official Swiss sources.

Page: https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/switzerland/mental-health-and-counselling

## Job market at a glance

The jobs **Mental Health & Counselling** leads to, added together. Each label compares Mental Health & Counselling with the other Swiss fields.

- **Average pay (calculated)**: CHF 108,800 (Moderate)
- **Pay under 30 (calculated)**: CHF 80,400 (Moderate)
- **Change since 2024**: -0.4% (Moderate)

Change in people employed: the broader occupation groups these jobs belong to (Eurostat Labour Force Survey, Switzerland). Yearly pay is calculated by UNIFER from the BFS standardised monthly wage × 12; BFS already spreads the 13th month and annual bonuses over the twelve months. Pay is published for broad occupation groups. Not shown for Switzerland: job ads (Eurostat's online job-ads statistics do not cover Switzerland and BFS publishes no count by job), growth (Cedefop's skills forecast does not cover Switzerland) and shortage (the EU shortage report, from EURES, has no Swiss data).

## Jobs this degree leads to

The jobs **Mental Health & Counselling** courses most often lead to in Switzerland, and how each one is doing.

| Job | Share | Average pay | Entry pay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Social work and counselling professionals | 52% | CHF 109,464 est. | CHF 80,484 |
| 2. Psychologists | 43% | CHF 109,464 est. | CHF 80,484 |
| 3. Environmental and occupational health and hygiene professionals | 5% | CHF 96,000 est. | CHF 79,704 |

Share: how common each job is among Mental Health & Counselling destinations. Pay under 30: the median monthly wage of employees aged 29 or under in the job's occupation group, × 12. Swiss pay is published for broad occupation groups, so each job shows its group's figure ("est.").

## What graduates like you earned

What **university master's graduates of all fields** earned in Switzerland, working full time. BFS publishes graduate pay for seven broad field groups, and none matches Mental Health & Counselling.

- **Master's graduates, 1 year on median, full time, class of 2024 · middle half CHF 57,800–CHF 95,000**: CHF 80,500
- **5 years on median, class of 2020, real francs**: CHF 100,000
- **Graduates who came from abroad to study master's, all fields, 1 year on · Swiss-educated graduates CHF 85,000**: CHF 67,000
- **Came from abroad, working in Switzerland master's, all fields, 1 year on · Swiss-educated graduates working in Switzerland CHF 85,000**: CHF 80,000

Gross yearly income for a full-time post, as BFS publishes it (graduates working in Switzerland and abroad). The "came from abroad" figure is for all fields together; BFS does not split it by field.

## Staying to work after you graduate

How international students stay to work in Switzerland after studying **Mental Health & Counselling**.

1 Finish your course

A master's or a PhD from a Swiss university.

2 Time to find a job 6 months

to find work that matches your degree. You may work up to 15 hours a week meanwhile. It cannot be extended.

3 Work permit

**Swiss graduates' route:** an employer can hire you without first showing that no Swiss or EU worker is available, if your work is of high academic or economic interest (for example, a job in a field with proven demand that matches your degree).

**Quotas still apply:** in 2026 Switzerland admits at most **8,500** workers from outside the EU (4,500 B residence permits and 4,000 L short-stay permits).

There is no salary minimum, but pay must match what is usual for the place, job and sector. Switzerland does not issue the EU Blue Card.

Graduates living in Switzerland who are citizens of non-EU countries: **68.5%** in work, against 91.2% of Swiss graduates (ages 25–64, 2025).

## Mental Health & Counselling in other countries

Typical pay for the same jobs (in US dollars in brackets, at October 2026 exchange rates), projected growth, and post-study work after a master's.

- [Switzerland CHF 108,800 ($132,000) Job search 6 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/switzerland/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Germany €61,000 ($68,300) Growth +4.1% (2023–40) · 18 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/germany/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [France €30,200 net ($33,800) Growth +14.2% (2022–35) · Job-search permit 12 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/france/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [United Kingdom £43,800 ($58,600) Growth +10% (2025–35) · Graduate visa 18 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/uk/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [United States $60,800 Growth +12.9% (2025–35) · OPT 12 months, 36 with the STEM extension](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/us/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Canada CA$81,300 ($58,100) Growth +21.9% (2023–33) · PGWP up to 36 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/canada/mental-health-and-counselling)

- [Australia AU$112,500 ($79,000) Growth +25.3% (2025–35) · 24 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/australia/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Ireland €45,100 ($50,500) Growth +5.1% (2025–28) · Stamp 1G 24 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/ireland/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Netherlands €63,600 ($71,200) Growth +5.2% (2025–30) · Orientation year 12 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/netherlands/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Sweden SEK 526,700 ($53,000) Growth +27.2% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work 12 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/sweden/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Denmark DKK 609,300 ($91,200) Growth +23.7% (2022–35) · Job-seeking permit 12 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/denmark/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Finland €51,800 ($58,000) Growth +18.9% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work 24 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/finland/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Poland PLN 105,500 ($26,900) Growth +18.9% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work 9 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/poland/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Spain €33,300 ($37,300) Growth +10.4% (2022–35) · Job-search permit 24 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/spain/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Italy €20,400 net ($22,800) Growth +22.6% (2022–35) · Permit to look for work up to 12 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/italy/mental-health-and-counselling)
- [Belgium €62,200 ($69,600) Growth +37.4% (2022–35) · Search year 12 months](https://uniferedu.com/job-market-research/belgium/mental-health-and-counselling)

## Questions students ask

### How much do Mental Health & Counselling graduates earn in Switzerland?

University master's graduates in all fields earned a median CHF 80,500 a year one year after graduating and CHF 100,000 five years after. Graduates who came from abroad to study earned CHF 67,000, against CHF 85,000 for Swiss-educated graduates (all fields, one year on). Across all workers in these jobs, typical pay is CHF 108,800 and starting pay about CHF 80,400.

### Can I stay and work in Switzerland after a Mental Health & Counselling master's?

Yes, for 6 months to find a job after a Swiss degree, working up to 15 hours a week meanwhile. An employer can then hire you without a labour-market test if your work is of high academic or economic interest, within the yearly quotas for non-EU workers.

## Where these numbers come from

Every figure comes from an official Swiss source. Tap a source tag next to any number for its details.

- [Befragung der Hochschulabsolventinnen und -absolventen (EHA) — classes of 2024 (1 year after) and 2020 (5 years after), BFS](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bildung-wissenschaft/uebertritte-verlaeufe-bildungsbereich/absolventenstudien-hochschulen.html)
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) · BFS open use, source must be cited (OPEN-BY) · loaded 19 Oct 2026

- [Schweizerische Lohnstrukturerhebung (LSE) 2024 — monatlicher Bruttolohn nach Berufsgruppe (px-x-0304010000_205); yearly figure calculated by UNIFER](https://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/pxweb/de/px-x-0304010000_205/px-x-0304010000_205.px/)
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BFS) · BFS open use, source must be cited (OPEN-BY) · loaded 19 Oct 2026

- [Employed persons by detailed occupation (ISCO-08 two-digit), Switzerland — EU Labour Force Survey (lfsa_egai2d)](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsa_egai2d/default/table?lang=en)
Eurostat · Eurostat reuse policy: free reuse with acknowledgement of the source (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU) · loaded 19 Oct 2026

- [Employment rates by educational attainment and citizenship, tertiary education, ages 25–64, Switzerland (lfsa_ergaedn)](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsa_ergaedn/default/table?lang=en)
Eurostat · Eurostat reuse policy: free reuse with acknowledgement of the source (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU) · loaded 19 Oct 2026

- [Swiss post-study and work rules — AIG and VZAE (fedlex.admin.ch), SEM directives (manually verified)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2007/758/en)
Swiss Confederation (Fedlex); State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) — transcribed and verified by UNIFER · Official government information · loaded 19 Oct 2026

- [Meldepflichtige Berufsarten 2026 (Stellenmeldepflicht) — State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), arbeit.swiss](https://www.arbeit.swiss/de/arbeitgebende/stellenmeldepflicht-2026)
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) · Official public list (SECO) · loaded 19 Oct 2026

Indicative figures from official Swiss sources. They describe groups of graduates and workers, not what any individual will earn or be offered. Visa rules change, so check sem.admin.ch before you decide.