Becoming a Career Counselor

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The task of an employment or career counselor is to work with individuals and at times with groups for helping them in making good career decisions as well as choices. Career counselors make it effective for their clients to chance upon the right kinds of jobs by collecting as well as assessing information about the education, previous experiences in employment, as well as skills, interests, and personal information. The job of career counseling includes taking aptitude and skill set tests for evaluating the personality of the client or candidate. The tests often help in giving the clients the right kind of understanding of their professional interests and aptitudes.

The key roles and responsibilities of career counselor jobs take into account evaluation of the skills of the students as well as assessment of the personality of the candidates to help them better understand their jobs. In fact, a growing number of professionals of career counselor jobs are sought after by the clients and are employed by public as well as private employment agencies. The task of a career counselor is to assess the information and identify the possible career options and discuss with the clients the prospective employment opportunities as well as the entry requirements.

The job of the employment or career counseling includes various types of requirements based on the entry requirements as well as licensing of the state that you reside in. Career counselor jobs require a minimum of a bachelor's degree in psychology or counseling or vocational guidance. The related degrees may be acceptable in case the career counselor is experienced in the field of the following areas such as:


  • Interviewing
  • Job placement
  • Personnel services
There are a few state agencies that require their employment or career counselors to have master's degrees for them to receive a license for private practice. A newly hired career counselor is often given an on the job training.

The skills of career counselors involve excellent interpersonal skills along with a thorough understanding of the nature and prospects of the work with updated information pertaining to the different kinds of trends that affect the employment outlook of the career counselor jobs.

Training is an important aspect of becoming an experienced professional in the field of career counseling. You can look on the internet to gain a thorough idea of the training as well as courses that are offered. Graduate School Programs are a good portal for reference where you are required to choose a career counseling graduate school that provides candidates with a master's degree in the counseling programs that are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, or the CACREP.

Prior experience is necessary in the field of employment or career counseling and you must be prepared for supervised clinical experience which will be necessitated by your master's degree. The placement office of a student's college is the best place to look for experience as you will be offered with a miscellany of jobs and openings in the field of career counseling. You may also directly apply to the private agencies that hire the employment or career counselors.

The global employment outlook for career counselors in federal state agencies may advance to the administrative and supervisory positions. If you are working as a career counselor in a private agency, you can build on your practices and move into other kinds of personnel or management related positions. In fact, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has stipulated that the career prospects have improved and are better than average.

The salaries of career counselor jobs are at a median of $46,000 on an annual basis, as was noticed in the year 2004. In fact, the earnings and income may vary to a great extent between the states. The career counselor professionals are also entitled to other kinds of benefits such as the following:
  • Paid holidays
  • Vacations
  • Health insurances
  • Retirement plans and benefits
Career counseling jobs generally require 40 hours per week with some of the agencies requiring evening shifts for suiting the schedules of the client. The self employed career counselors often offer evening appointments for adjusting to their client schedules. As privacy is important in career counselor jobs, the counselors have their own offices that are well-lighted and soundproof.
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 Council for Accreditation of Counseling  graduate schools  Bureau of Labor Statistics  personalities  interpersonal skills  experience  educational programs  degrees  prospects  training


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