School Counselor Careers Information
School Counselors are given the task of attending to our school children’s emotional well-being. They must be highly empathic to the myriad problems children and young adults face and yet able to compartmentalize their sympathies lest the emotional requirements overwhelm them and they burn out.
School Counselor Careers & Degrees
- South University: Columbia
Beckfield College: Tri-County Campus
Argosy University: Atlanta
- Doctor of Education (EdD) in Counselor Education and Supervision
- Education Specialist in School Counseling (EdS)
A good school counselor will use his training to help students in need find solutions to their problems and all students learn how to be good and productive citizens.
School counselors fall into two basic categories:
Elementary school counselors work with young children to make sure their social and educational development is on par with their peers. These counselors observe and help students who have developmental problems or, if their problems require specialized care, refer them to specialists.
Counselors of young children also must be on the lookout for potential abuse. They often aid teachers in instructing their students in appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. They will also organize guest speakers and programs designed to teach children at young age about the social pressures,drugs, sex, etc,they will face in a few years. By reaching them early, counselors hope to positively influence the decisions they must make in the future.
Secondary school counselors work with middle and high school students. In many ways, the issues they deal with are the same as those faced by their elementary school counterparts, but because they now work with young adults, they must modify their methods.
Issues of emotional, physical, and substance abuse are common in their work. Counselors must assess each situation and decide what level of intervention or even punishment will be most beneficial. Like their elementary school counterparts, they will work with teachers and school administrators and reach out to parents and/or guardians in their quest to help a student.
Secondary school counselors are commonly a resource for young adults needing information on illegal substances and safe sexual practices, though this aspect of their work can be controversial. Ultimately, these counselors want to help their charges navigate an awkward time in their lives and enter adulthood ready to take on its challenges.
Counselors who work at colleges and universities continue to help students make the transition to adulthood. Their work is more peripheral, however, and generally is only offered to those who seek out their services. In this way, they are more like traditional counselors who work with patients outside of any institution.
School Counselor Careers Path
School counselors must earn at least a Master’s degree in counseling services, often from a psychology, human services, or education department, in order to work.
A counselor will likely specialize in counseling a specific age group, such as elementary school or high school, since the needs of students differ depending upon their age and education level. All states require their counselors to become licensed.
Though particular requirements differ, most states want their counselors to have taken a certain number of graduate level education courses. Many also want their counselors to have teaching certificates and some require that they have classroom teaching experience. New school counselors may be hired straight into a position or spend time working under a more experienced counselor.
School Counselor Careers: Compatible Personality Traits
Highly empathetic, excellent communication skills, good with children and/or young adults, able to deal with tough emotional issues, likes helping others, patient, team player, able to juggle many roles, good under stress.
School Counselor Interview
Want to know more about a school counselor career? Read More from a School Counselor…
School Counselor Careers: Salary Expectations
The average salary for all counselors is $51,050 a year, with the middle fifty percent earning between $38,740 and $65,360. Those school counselors who work at elementary and secondary schools average $57,800 a year.
For junior colleges the average is $50,440 a year while at colleges, universities, and vocational schools, the average is $43,980. Those with more education and experience may be able to move into supervisory roles to earn more money, especially in larger schools or districts that employ multiple counselors.
School Counselor Careers: Job Outlook
The job outlook for school counselors is good in the coming years. Though school budgets are often tight, most school districts feel it is important that their students receive all the help they can get, inside and outside the classroom.
This is especially important as our society increasingly relies on its schools not only to educate the young, but also attend to their social development. Therefore, more federal grants are becoming available to help provide for counseling when a school does not have the money itself. Job prospects in rural areas are especially good.
Slightly off the Footpath
Source: bls.gov/OCO/ocos067.htm
