The following article was created by the team at GradSchools.com, an
educational directory and resource for adult learners interested in pursuing a
graduate degree. This article series provides an overview of the job outlook,
salary data, daily life, and educational requirements of selected careers in
hopes that one of these spotlights will help you decide what you want to be
when you grow up.
School counselors work with students at the
elementary, middle school, high school and college level to provide academic
and career guidance to the student population they serve, they might also provide
mental health counseling or life coaching when needed. The job roles of school counselors vary
depending on the setting they work in and the clients they work with. Generally speaking school counselors who are
employed in elementary schools focus on helping students develop their
interpersonal skills. This can include
intervening to help end bullying in the school, helping shy students meet
others and develop friendships, and improving the clients overall communication
skills. School counselors that work in
a middle school or high school focus more on preparing students for their adult
lives. They help their clients make decisions about their long term academic and career goals, this process
requires them to help their students decide which classes to take or which
activities to participate in. This
guidance helps the client build their set of skills and knowledge base to help
them accomplish their longer term goals.
High school counselors may also help to identify any emotional or
behavioral problems that their students are suffering from and provide them
with counseling to help them overcome their challenges in order to be better equipped to reach their goals. School
counselors who work with college students perform similar duties to that of
high school counselors, but they generally spend more time developing
strategies to help their clients reach their goals and less time working with
their clients to define them.
Most states require school
counselors to earn a masters degree in school counseling in order to be qualified to work in the field. Many programs will offer degree programs in
either elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school counseling. Selecting a specific concentration within the
practice of school counseling helps to prepare future counselors to manage the
unique challenges of working with clients at a specific level. While each concentration will offer courses
specific to working with a particular age group, students enrolled in a school counseling program can reasonably expect to encounter coursework in the
following topics: assessment methods for counselors, social and diversity
issues in counseling, research methods, consultation and coordination in
guidance and counseling, and organization and administration of school
counseling programs. Students enrolled
in a school counseling graduate program are also likely to be required to
complete a supervised practicum where they work with a certified school
counselor to gain real world experience working with clients.
Pursuing a career as a school counselor may be a good option
for women who want to have a similar schedule to their children. Most school counselors work during the hours
that their children will be in school, which may help to reduce the amount of
money spent on before or after school care for their young children. Some counselors also have off during the summer
(the specific number of days off and schedules are defined in the counselor’s
contract, and will vary across different school districts or work environments).
According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics the 2012 median salary of school and career counselors
was $53,610 and jobs in this field are predicted to grow by 12% between 2012
and 2022. Click here
to learn more about earning your graduate degree in school counseling or
research educational options.
