He joined the counselor education professoriate upon graduating from Kent State University in Ohio. Prior to doctoral study, he was a counseling clinician in various public settings in rural mid-west of the United States serving diverse populations since 1986. The common issues of counseling include treating survivors and perpetrators of abuse; delinquencies, couple and family counseling, and others. He has been a professor in the United States since 1993 serving various public regional institutions of higher education in Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas in various administrative and academic roles ranging from being a Dean of a College, Department Head/Chair, Program Coordinator, and currently serving as a full-time professor in clinical mental health and counselor education and supervision programs. He is an active member of American Counseling Association (ACA), International Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC), Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) and many other professional organizations.

Dr. Zaidy Mohd Zain sits on numerous the editorial boards of peer-review academic journals throughout his long academic career including the Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, published by IAMFC since 1994. His long successful engagement in the counseling profession and higher education teaching has produced a trail of numerous publications and presentations at various levels: internationally, nationally and locally. He also served as external examiner to various universities worldwide and active participant in accreditation process such as Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and CACREP. His long-standing interests in rural counseling services, marriage and family counseling and teaching pedagogy in counselor training, among others, led to the award of an endowment for rural mental health counseling in 2022 thus, making him an endowed professor of counseling.