According the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), the addiction profession workforce is estimated at more than 100,000 individuals that include counselors, educators, and other addiction-focused health care professionals who specialize in addiction prevention, intervention, treatment, recovery support, and education. The profession is always in high need regardless of the economy or other employment trends.

Most addiction professionals are employed in the following industries: outpatient care centers; residential mental health and substance abuse facilities; individual and family services; local government; general medical and surgical hospitals; psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals; and private practices. Many other addiction professionals work in prisons, probation or parole agencies, juvenile detention facilities, halfway houses, detox centers and employee assistance programs. Having training and licensing as an addiction professional is one of the most versatile and sought out professions in all of social services.

At Edmonds College there is no single attribute that sums up our future addictions professionals. In our program there are young adults looking to start their careers, and there are seasoned adults looking for a second (or third) career. We have students in recovery from their own Substance Use Disorder, and we have students who are not in recovery. We have students who have never taken a single college course, and we have students with master's degrees in other disciplines. We have students who only want to help others struggling with a Substance Use Disorder, and we have students with no desire to work in a SUD treatment center but understand that all social service fields are touched by addiction. We truly are comprised of a diverse student body, and we believe this is a strength of our program. All students are in the same classes together, side by side, each offering something important to the learning process. We would love to have you join us!

At any point you can navigate through this site by either clicking on the Modules link and returning the main menu, or by clicking on the navigational buttons below to go backward or forward one page.

If you are a current Edmonds College student or faculty you can add this Info Guide to your Canvas Dashboard.