Career Details and Job Opportunities for a Career Counselor
Career News December 6, 2015If you have always asked yourself what kind of training career counselors get before practicing their skills, this article is here to inform you more about that. So, give me your attention for the next few minutes and learn if this sort of career would suit you.
Information on Career Counselors
A career counselor is someone who helps other people to realize their goals in life and teaches them how they can work to achieve these goals. Career counselors work with community based organizations, government agencies or with schools and colleges.
Most of the people who visits career counselors for advice are either just graduated college students, unemployed people or people who are about to start their own businesses. A career counselor also helps these people with education plans, arranging for tests and how to get licensed after training. Finally, a career counselor can also help you learn how to balance both work and family.
Education details
The most basic education requirement is a bachelor’s degree in any field. After this, you can pursue a Master’s degree program in counseling, but make sure that the program offers studies in career counseling. For those people who already have a Master’s degree, they can enroll for a certificate or bachelor’s degree program in career counseling in order to get licensed and possibly get employed.
Coursework in this degree program revolves around group counseling, job searching, counseling theories and career development.
Getting a License
Licensing differs depending on which state you are in. Generally, most states demand that you have a master’s degree and some proof of work experience in the field and not forgetting the fact that you may have to sit for an examination.
Skills
To be a good career counselor, you must have the will and desire to help people make positive progress in their careers. You must not discriminate any of your clients and must have good work ethics before you can join this profession.
Job opportunities and Salary details
The job growth rate for career counselors is estimated to be 12% within the next few years (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)). On the other hand, the BLS estimates that career counselors earn an annual median salary of $53,610.
Alternative Professions for Career Counselors
Social worker
A social worker is someone who helps other people deal with personal problems, be it educational, family issues, mental problems or issues to do with employment or the lack of it. A social worker has to have good communication skills as their work will involve talking a lot. Sometimes, qualified social workers may also treat people with behavioral or mental health issues. To get employed in a clinic as a social worker, you must have a master’s degree while you can still get jobs as a direct service worker with only a bachelor’s degree. The average earnings in this profession are $49,830, according to the BLS.
High school teacher
You can get a job to be a high school teacher in the guiding and counseling department. The profession is however quite competitive and in some states you are required to further your studies once you get the job. The average annual salary as per the BLS is $55,050.
