School counselors play a vital role in the psychological lives of students. Counselors usually have to work closely, not only with the students, but also with the school staff and the parents with the aim of creating a good environment for students to learn and excel academically.
How to become a Preschool teacher
You can start off by becoming a volunteer counselor for youths or participating in peer counseling.
You can then pursue a Bachelors degree in psychology, sociology or education.
And then proceed to get a high school teaching credential.
You can then choose to get a masters and doctorate degree in child psychology.
You will then be required to do an internship for a period of time and then you can apply for your licensing or certification according to your state requirements. Most states will demand that you take a counseling test before you can practice in their schools. These tests are usually administered by computers. The National Certified Counselor gives certifications to counselors who have attained the academic requirements and have at least two years working experience.
Types Description, Information
You can choose to work part time or full time 9-5. You can also choose to work in public or private schools. Again, you can opt to branch off into other different kinds of counseling that do not deal with schools such as family therapy, mental counseling and marriage counseling.
Qualifications: Courses, Training, Certification
An associate’s degree may be sufficient for you to be allowed to practice counseling in a school. Some of the classes that will be part of yourcourse work include child development and psychology. You might need a further two years clinical supervision practice as part of your training program.
Schools, Colleges, Universities offering Teaching Degrees
There are many courses that one can take in colleges and universities that will lead one to get academic qualifications. In preparation for gaining admission to these colleges, you can do the Miller Analogy and General Record Exam (GRE) since most colleges require these as entrance exams. You can send more than one application letter to different colleges to ensure that at least you gain admission into one of these colleges. You can also send out letters of recommendations from the academic departments of high schools or colleges you have attended. When looking for a college to pursue your counseling course, you can log into the website of Graduate Schools programs and look for universities that have been accredited by Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.
Top 5 colleges and Universities
Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Chicago
Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
Adler School of Professional Psychology
Mid American Christian University
Ottawa University in Arizona
Job Opportunities, Salaries and Recruitment
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics states that the job opportunities for new counselors are quite high, with about 130,000 jobs being available up to 2016. School counselors topped the list for counselors with most jobs. The average pay for counselors in schools is $45,500.
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