Career guidance counseling plays a pivotal role not only in high schools and higher education institutions, but also in organizations, where career guiding counselors can help people shape their professional careers in a way that they would feel satisfied with their jobs and would be able to offer better output.
Pursuing a Career in Career Guidance Counseling
For a career in Career Guidance Counseling, you need to be familiar with the constraints of all the professions and industries, so that you are able to offer a realistic outlook to the student or professional who is consulting you. You also need to be patient and be familiar with the psychological aspects that you need to consider. You should be able to make the people seeing you for counseling comfortable in order to get a clear view of their case. You can join an organization or an independent consultancy as a Career Guidance Counselor or could even practice independently.
Career Guidance Counseling: Qualification, Courses, Training
For a career in Career Guidance Counseling, you would mostly need at least a Masters degree in psychology, or in liberal arts. In some states, employers and individuals may require the career counselor to be CACREP accredited. A certification from the National Board of Certified Counselors can tremendously add prestige to your profile. Career counseling training programs recognized by the institution in various schools could prove helpful in launching your career. Licensure is required for private practice. Related work experience counts a lot as well.
Career Guidance Counseling: Schools, Colleges, Universities
The following psychology schools are some of the best across the nation for aspiring career counselors.
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA
- University of California-Berkley, Berkley, CA
- Harvard University, Boston, MA
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Career Guidance Counseling: Job Opportunities, Salaries and Recruitment
If you are concerned about the availability of job opportunities in Career Guidance Counseling, then you would be relieved to learn that these positions would see a growth of no less than 18%, with 14% at educational and school counselors from 2008 to 2018, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mean annual earning of counselors working in colleges and professional educational institutes is $43,980 and of those at vocational rehabilitation centers is $35,220. Overall, the average annual earning of educational and vocational rehabilitation counseling is $51,050.