Career Project

Counseling

By Lauren

Nature of the Work

Counselors of all kinds assist people

with personal, family, educational,

mental health, and career decisions

and problems.

This occupation doesn’t require any

equipment, supplies, or tools because

counseling can be done anywhere at

anytime.

Some specific specializations

within this occupation are:

Nature of the Work

•Athletic Counseling

•Clinical Mental Health Counseling

•Industrial/ Organizational Counseling

•Marriage/ Family Counseling

•School Guidance Counseling

•Student Personnel Counseling

The rest of my project will about

school counseling specifically.

Nature of the Work

The major duties and responsibilities for this

occupation depend on the individuals they

serve and on the settings in which they work.

Nature of the work

License or certification requirements:

• Every state has its own

requirements for becoming a

school counselor, but many of the

states share a few common ones.

• All States require school

counselors to hold a State

school counseling certification

and to have completed at least

some graduate course work;

most require the completion of

a master’s degree.

• Some States require public

school counselors to have

both counseling and

teaching certificates and to

have had some teaching

experience before receiving

certification.

Average Day on the Job

Hours: The hours of a school counselor

are the same as the teacher hours of the

school. They usually run from 7:00-2:00.

Counselors are on call 24/7 though.

Duties: To work with students, parents,

teachers, school administrators, school

psychologists, medical professionals, and

social workers in order to improve ways of

helping kids to be successful.

Tasks to Complete: The tasks to

complete differ from day to day. However,

there is one thing that never changes and

that’s helping people.

Other: Manage time well, so much to do

and not nearly enough time to do it in.

Education or Training Requirements

High School Undergraduate Graduate

Summer jobs at camps Liberal Arts, psych, or

social work

Specific work toward

licensing

Volunteer Work (any

number of hours)

120 hours of direct

supervision in Mass.

450-900 hours of direct

supervision in Mass.

Training/ steps that can be taken based on the level of education.

• In high school any beginner psychology classes would

help one that wanted to go into the counseling field.

•Although many high schools don’t offer this, volunteer

work at a hospital, school, or nursing home are other

great ways to gain some experience (forms of helping

people).

•The intensity of the training needed increases as the level

of education increases. Higher standards are naturally

going to be held for those going into this field.

Specific Educational or Training

Facilities (that offer the training for this career)

Dream School:

Salve Regina University(Tuition $26,700)

School I could

definitely get in:

Westfield State College(Tuition $7,000)

Schools that I would like

to go to:

Roger Williams University(Tuition $24,192)

Saint Joseph’s College(Tuition $6,000)

Saint Anselm College(Tuition $26,960)

Personal Qualifications

Interests, Skills or Abilities

Physical Demands

Other Qualifications

• Helping people

• Communication

• Multitasking

• Patience

•Listening

• Caring

• Up to date on technology

• Handling personal stress

• Setting personal goals

• None

•Intelligent

• Sense of humor

• Able to see the big picture

• Attracted to helping others

Earnings

Starting Wages: Average Wages: Top Wages:

Benefits: These differs from place to place. However, one things stays the same. A

school counselor is considered to be a hero for many, the best benefit of all!

$27,600

A Year

$50,400

A Year

$77,100

A Year

Working Conditions

Hours:

Physical Working Conditions:

Stress Level: High

Uniform or Dress Requirement:

Travel:

The hours of a school counselor are the same as the

teacher hours of the school. They usually run from 7:00-

2:00. Counselors are on call 24/7 though.

Most school counselors spend their day in

an office, but they do have to attend

meetings and give speeches to students.

This depends on the school requirements,

but usually business casual is expected.

There is some travel involved in this career, the attending of

meetings. Usually the distance is relatively close, but

occasionally a longer distance will be traveled.

Employment and Advancement

Outlook for the Occupation

Employment Trends:

Opportunities for Advancement within Occupation:

Job Stability within Occupation:

The employment trends for

school counselors are slowly

starting to increase.

Depending on where the school counselor is

working, some opportunities for advancement

within the occupation are possible. For example

if there are several school counselors working

together, becoming the head/manager of all of

these counselors would be a great promotion. In

other places however, there is no where higher

to go.

This occupation is rather sturdy, especially because this

career is becoming more popular. There is a larger need

for school counselors, especially because it is a hard

position to fill. The has been a large increase in job

openings for this career over the past few years as well.

Related Occupations

Related or Similar

Occupations:

Counselors help people to

evaluate their interests,

abilities, disabilities, and help

them with their problems. The

occupations that are similar to a

counselors do the same kinds of

things. I would probably like

most of these jobs because of

that. I think that I would

especially like being a teacher

because I love working with

kids. I would like to teach at an

elementary school level though,

if I were to go into this field.

• Teacher

• Social and human service assistant

• Social worker

• Psychologist

• Physician and surgeon

• Registered nurse

• Member of the clergy

• Occupational therapist

• Human Resources

Personality Characteristics of Typical

People Working in this Occupation

• Oral Expression- The ability to communicate to others in speaking so others will understand.

• Oral Comprehension- The ability to listen and understand what others are saying.

• Problem Sensitivity- Being able to recognize when something is wrong, or going to go wrong.

• Speech Clarity- Being able to speak clearly so that others will understand.

•Inductive Reasoning- Being able to combine bits of information to form conclusions.

•Written Expression- The ability to communicate information and ideas with others through writing.

•Nonjudgmental

•Patient

•Empathetic

•Be able to handle stress

•Be outgoing

In this particular occupation there tend to be

more female workers.

Personal Satisfaction from the Work in

the Occupation: Challenges and

SatisfactionWhen it comes to my personal values, they match up with school

counseling perfectly. I love helping people and want to make a

difference with what I do. I enjoy talking to people and helping

them fix their problems. I also consider myself to be a rather

approachable person. I’m usually the one to go to when needing

help with a problem. I think that it’s really important that people

aren’t judged and that everyone is given a fair chance.

Status of Job: When it comes to the career of school counseling, the position

is respected by society. This is considered to be a very difficult job for many.

Societies opinion on the occupation is somewhat important to me, because I

want to be taken seriously with my career path. Of course I’m going to follow

the career path that makes me the happiest, but having a respected career

also plays an important role in that.

Interview

School Guidance Counselor

Licensed K-12 MBA, MED, CAS

Here are the questions that I asked and the answers I received during my

interview.

Q- “How did you get into this occupation and what steps did you take?”

A- “I went from a career in business to a business trainer dealing with psychology. Then I became a substitute teacher

while I went back to school and began to take psychology classes. I decided that I liked to work with kids to help

them. I had to get a graduate degree in school counseling and psychology (taking a total of 2 years for this). Then I

had two internships in schools for hands on experience.”

Q- “How did you get interested in this field of work and then find this job?”

A- “When I was in college I had a special opportunity and helped a college set up an internship program. I had

to help students with career counseling, which is what I am doing now, and I loved it! One day I was looking

through the paper and saw this tiny little add for Amherst High School and I got hired there for a maternity

leave. I interviewed with the principle and I was 1 of 3 for the position, and I got it. I then moved to working at

Smith Academy, where I am now.”

Q- “What are some jobs or volunteer work that may help me get into this field?”

A- “Working at summer camps and doing any volunteer work will really help. Dealing with patients, working in

nursing homes, visiting hospitals, playing with kids, anything like that is great.”

Q- “What are you expected to do on the job and can you describe a typical day?”

A- “Well, it’s unique because I’m the only one here, unlike in most schools. I work with students ranging from

grades 7-12, which is really hard considering the age difference. First I could be talking to a senior about having

trouble with sending information to a college and then a little seventh grader could walk in crying because

someone looked at them the wrong way. Making the transition between these age levels can be difficult at

times. More specifically I’m not only expected to be working with the kids, but write reports for cases of

violence, or write other reports for outside of the building. The order of a typical week day goes as follows:

walk in to meet students at the door, IEP meetings, 1 or 2 crises in the building, problems with parents (think

they are the most important thing at the time), student or teacher issues, planning ahead for future meetings,

working on the curriculum development, and any other issues that come up because they are happening all

the time.”

Q- “What are some specific skills needed to be successful in this job, and what skills, aptitudes, or personal

qualifications will help me?”

A- “Communication, patience, multitasking, handling stress personally, up to date on technology, always

setting goals for the future, desire to continue to learn, sense of humor, intelligent, caring, see the big picture,

these are all things that are needed to be successful and they will definitely help you.”

Q- “What personal traits, values, interests, are helpful for job success in this occupation?”

A- “Being attracted to the helping of others and listening.”

Q- “What preparation, training, education is required for your job?”

A- “A minimum 60 credit approved graduate program on school counseling and psychology.”

Q- “What is there that gives your personal satisfaction in your job, and are there any negatives?”

A- “I enjoy working with all the students and knowing that I can make a difference. The only

negatives are not having enough time in the day and not having any other counselors to work with.”

Q- “What are the work hours? Are weekends needed? What about holidays?”

A- “My contract is the same as the teachers. I am expected to be here during school hours (7:15-

2:15) minimum and I am also on call 24/7 in case of a crisis. Weekends and holidays I am only on call

in case something goes wrong. I do however take time to do volunteer work for the school,

especially during homecoming.”

Q- “Would you do this again if you could choose all over again? Why or why not?”

A- “If I could do this over again I would have entered this field sooner instead of the having the

other jobs that I did. I love my job so much.”

Q- “Can you recommend any resources or websites about your career?”

A- “www.schoolcounselor.org, www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov, www.APA.org, www. MASCA.org,

and www.NAMI.org. These are all sites that I visit on occasion.”

Sources for my Occupational Information

•Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook

Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Counselors, on the Internet at

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos067.htm (visited December 1, 2007).

•Personal interview. 10 December 2007.

•"Occupation Profile- America's Career InfoNet." Careeronestop.

2007.America’s Job Bank. 1 Dec 2007

<http://www.careerinfonet.org/occ_rep.asp?next=occ_rep&Level=&optstat

us=111111111&jobfam=&id=1&nodeid=2&soccode=211012&stfips=25&x=1

8&y=8>.